


Mixing Pot

by Boogum



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Humor, Shenanigans, but most of these are gen, odd bit of romance will crop up, unconnected one-shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2019-10-14 14:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 23,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17510030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boogum/pseuds/Boogum
Summary: A collection of AtLA one-shots. Most will be gaang-centric. Chapter 18: 'Kiss'. In which Aang probably shouldn't have taken Toph up on that drink. Taang.





	1. Miraculous Players

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by blahblahbayern's prompt on tumblr: "How about Ladybug x AtLA crossover? Ember Island players present the new play Miraculous Ladybug, the Gaang give the theatre one more chance."
> 
> Wasn't ever expecting to write this crossover, but here we go! (Also, all ML inaccuracies featured in this one-shot are intentional.)

"Shh, it's starting," Sokka said, shooting warning looks at his friends from where he sat in the second row with Suki.

Zuko rolled his eyes and slumped against the railing of their booth balcony. "It's going to be terrible anyway. It's the Ember Island Players. Remember what happened last time we came to watch one of their shows?"

"I got to watch Actor Me 'tearbend' and make speeches about hope before we all died horrible deaths," Katara said in an unimpressed tone. "Also, what was with her outfit? I never wore anything like that."

Aang folded his arms across his chest. "At least you weren't played by a woman."

"Er, she was," Sokka felt the need to point out.

A beat.

"Ugh, you guys know what I mean! I'm clearly a guy, and they made me a bald lady!"

Suki snickered. "Yeah, they did."

Aang threw her a look of betrayal.

"Well, my actor was awesome," Toph declared, then stood up. "In fact, maybe I should pull out the old sonic wa—"

"No!" came the unified cry.

Toph paused with her mouth opened wide. She blew her fringe out of her face and sat back down. "Killjoys."

"The play is about to start, Toph," Katara said in her best Mum Tone. "You just can't go screaming as you please."

"I dunno," Zuko mumbled. "Being half-deafened by Toph's sonic wave might be an improvement. At least then I won't have to listen to the actors."

Toph grinned. "See, Sunshine is on my side."

"I think that counts more as Zuko choosing physical torture over mental torture," Suki observed.

Sokka shushed them all again with much arm flapping. "C'mon, guys, the actors are already on stage. I can't get into it if you keep yapping."

Zuko once more rolled his eyes. "What's this play even called again?"

"It's _Miraculous Ladybug_." Sokka gave him a frowny face. "I swear you're just pretending to forget now to annoy me."

"You're giving our Fire Lord way too much credit," Toph said. "Pretty sure he just doesn't care about the play."

Zuko shrugged, not denying the claim.

Sokka's frown deepened and he went on a big speech about friendship and how it was their duty to watch the play together for old time's sake. Sure it might suck, sure the script might end up being terrible, but they would groan and laugh at it together! He pumped his fist in the air and went on in this way for a while until the people in the neighbouring booth shhhed him with angry fingers to their lips.

"The play has started!" an old man with massive side-whiskers snapped.

Sokka slumped back into his chair, looking a bit pink around the cheeks. The others snickered while Zuko just fixed his bored gaze on the stage. Time for the torture.

oOo

"Oh no," the kid who'd had his heartbroken wailed. "My love will never love me now. I guess I'll just have to sit here and cry forever and be all alone. Boo hoo hoo."

"Did he actually just say 'Boo hoo hoo'?" Toph said, pulling a face.

A curtain unfurled on the far end of the stage to reveal a tall guy in a shiny looking outfit and a huge mask. There were white paper butterflies floating all around him on strings. "Ahh, a broken heart. This sadness and despair is perfect. Fly away, my little akuma, and evilise this poor soul!"

One of the paper butterflies was turned around so it was coloured purple. Then it floated—aka, was carried along by a little old man up in the rafters—towards the sobbing, rejected guy. In an admittedly impressive display of rapid costume change, Rejected's outfit became just as shiny as Shiny Butterfly Guy's, complete with a big broken heart stitched on his chest. He also got to wear a mask.

Shiny Butterfly Guy revealed he was called Hawkmoth and gave his villain protégé a new name (Heartbreaker). Then they punned their way through a plot to take Ladybug and Black Cat's miraculous. Finally, the curtain fell for a scene change.

"What … what just happened?" Katara said, blinking.

"Er …"

No one really had an answer.

oOo

"So, is this Black Cat guy a bat-cat of some kind?" Toph asked.

"Nah," Aang responded.

"Platypus-cat?"

"Nope."

"Bear-cat?"

"I think he's just meant to be a cat. He's wearing cat ears, cat paws, and a tail."

Toph scrunched her nose. "Weird."

There were some murmurs of agreement. Ladybug, it must be said, was just as odd to them. (Aang had been so certain she'd be half bug, half lady or at least some kind of cool spirit. Turned out she was just based on a bug that liked flowers.)

"I hope you're feline ready to fight!" Black Cat called to Heartbreaker.

Katara rested her chin on her hands. "Black Cat likes to make a lot of puns, huh."

"I've counted ten already," Zuko said in a long-suffering voice. A beat. "Make that eleven."

Sokka, who had been rather quiet for a while, now deigned to open his mouth. "My jokes are better."

The others all just stared at him. Well, except Suki.

"Black Cat is kind of hot," she said, then a little smile touched her lips. "A hot boy in leather …"

Sokka gave her the Betrayed Face. "I'd look good in leather."

She patted him on the arm. "I know you would."

Sokka, judging by his steadily slumping shoulders, was not appeased.

oOo

"I can't believe Adrien can't see that Ladybug is Marinette," Zuko said in frustration. "How blind can he be? She's literally right there in front of him, and she's even wearing the same hairstyle!"

Katara nudged him with her elbow. "Sounds like someone is getting into this."

Warmth touched his cheeks. "What? No. I just think it's stupid he can't tell it's her, and Marinette is just as bad."

Toph snorted. "Please, Sunshine, we all know you're a hopeless romantic. You totally OTP'd those two at first glance."

"Did not."

"Did toooooooo," Katara and Toph sing-songed.

He huffed and hid his burning face in his arms.

"Oh, look, Alya is going to help set them up," Aang said excitedly. He, unlike the Fire Lord, had no qualms about revealing his romantic side. "I hope it works."

Zuko raised his head slightly from his arms and peered down at the stage. Next to him, Toph and Katara exchanged knowing smiles.

oOo

"Miraculous ladybug!"

The little old men in the rafters quickly tried to reset the stage to pre-damage as Ladybug's magic took hold. Heartbreaker had been defeated thanks to Ladybug and Black Cat (or, rather, Ladybug's talking magical yoyo, which ate the purple butterfly). Then there were more puns and flirting on Black Cat's part. (Sokka felt the need to say he flirted better.) The play ended with the heroes sharing a fist bump.

"Wait, so Hawkmoth gets away at the end?" Aang furrowed his brow. "That doesn't seem right. I mean, he's the real villain here."

"Apparently, there's a sequel," Suki said.

Zuko folded his arms. "There had better be after all the loose ends they left."

"Someone's just grumpy because his OTP didn't happen," Toph stage-whispered.

The others laughed, even as Zuko blushed and grumbled and said they had it all wrong. He just liked things to be tied up nicely.

"And what's your verdict, Sokka?" Katara asked, smiling at her brother. "Was it everything you were hoping for when you dragged us all here?"

He rubbed his chin and made humming noises. "It didn't quite have the same flair as _The Boy in the Iceberg_ , and my actor was waaaay hotter than Black Cat's—"

Katara and Suki both snorted.

"—but I guess I enjoyed it. I mean, it had terrible acting, a terrible script, and so many puns that even I was cringing at times, but the special effects weren't bad, and it was just the kind of silly fun I've missed sharing with you guys."

This time the others let out big nawws and hugged him. Well, except Zuko. He had to be dragged into the hug. Some things would never change, it seemed, including the fact that the Ember Island Players could always be counted on to perform awful plays.


	2. In which Toph Offends a Hag

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for one of Advocaat's prompts back in 2013, which was to write a short story of the gaang being turned into animals.

Rule number one for how to survive while on a quest: don't offend ugly old hags, for they are likely to be spirits in disguise and will have their revenge. Unfortunately, no one ever bothered to teach Toph that rule, and she had just pissed off the mother of all ugly hags. There was spluttering, there were curses, and then Team Avatar were suddenly swallowed up in a cloud of pink glitter that choked and squeezed and made them all feel a bit strange. When the sparkly monstrosity had dispersed, the ugly hag had gone and Aang found that he was alone in the clearing. Well, apart from the baby saber-tooth moose-lion wearing Sokka's blue tunic, the grumpy looking turtle duck with the scar covering its left eye, and a small polar-bear dog with a familiar necklace hanging from its throat.

That was when Momo swooped down from the trees and started chirruping at him in a rather excited manner. Aang groaned and sat up from the ground, still feeling a little dizzy from the sparkly explosion attack. He rubbed his head, only to freeze as his fingers made contact with fur. Lots of fur and … long ears?

Heart pounding, he raced over to the stream and looked down at the mirrored surface of the water, seeing the reflection of a lemur staring back at him. A lemur with a blue arrow on its forehead and grey eyes.

"Oh, no," Aang muttered. "That hag turned me into Momo!"

Suddenly, the saber-tooth moose-lion let out a loud wail. "I have hooves! Why do I have hooves? And—and is that a tail!" Another wail. "What is going on?"

"You think you've got it bad," grumpy turtle duck retorted. "Just look at me." He lifted up one webbed foot and then sighed. The thought 'why me' was written all over his fluffy face.

The polar bear dog just covered its face with its furry paws. "This isn't happening," it—no, she—said in a panicky voice."This can't be happening! I refuse to believe that this is happening!"

Aang scratched his head as he stared at the three animals. "Sokka, Zuko, Katara, is that you?"

"Of course it's us!"

"Okay, okay!" He held his hands up in an appeasing gesture. "I just didn't expect it, that's all. I mean, Zuko as a turtle duck? Not something you see every day."

A beaky scowl was directed his way. Aang didn't even know how a person could scowl with a beak, but somehow Zuko managed it.

"Don't even start, lemur-face," the prince snapped. "This is humiliating enough without you rubbing it in."

"I dunno," Katara said, raising her head from her paws and observing the transformed prince with an amused glint in her eyes. "I think you look kind of cute, all fluffy and cuddly."

Zuko made a huffy noise of exasperation. "Not helping!"

Sokka walked towards them, little tail wagging quite on its own. "Look, right now we just need to figure out a way to break this curse." He paused and glanced around the clearing. "Wait a minute, where's Toph?"

Aang clamped his hands to his cheeks in horror. "You don't think the hag took her away into the Spirit World as punishment, do you?"

Something thumped towards them from the trees, making the ground beneath their feet—er, and paws and hooves—shake in a rather alarming manner. Then a large shadow descended over the clearing. "Nope. I'm right here."

All four animals glanced up to see a badgermole staring back at them.

"Toph?" Katara said cautiously.

"Who else?" the badgermole said with a grin, and then she slapped her hand—er, paw?—on the ground, making the earth judder and tremble again. "Wow, I can really feel the vibrations in this body. This is so cool!"

A few rocks tumbled free from the cliff face, nearly hitting Sokka in the head.

"Great," Sokka sighed, moving to the much safer position beside Zuko. "Toph gets to go into ultra Toph Smash mode, while the rest of us are like Team Fluffy Cute Pants. This is just embarrassing."

"It's not so bad," Aang said with a shrug. "At least I can still fly."

"Thank you for that input," Zuko responded dryly. "Despite the fact I'm the same size as my human hand right now, it's nice to know that I can comfort myself with the knowledge that you can still fly."

Aang cracked a very lemurish smile. "No problem."

Zuko and Sokka both face-palmed … or, at least, they tried to do so. Mostly they just sighed and raised their respective webbed foot or hoof in a vain attempt to reach their foreheads.

"Guys, we need to focus," Katara said, trying to steer the conversation back to more important matters. "Can anyone remember what that hag said before she turned us into animals?"

"I'm going home to cook roast beef?"

Everyone stared at Sokka.

"What?" he said with a defensive twitch of his ears. "I swear she did say that."

Katara shook her head. "Right. Well, aside from wanting to cook roast beef, I know she said something about the curse. I just can't remember the exact words now."

"I remember," Zuko said softly. "She said:

_Tooth and claw, heart and soul,_

_Become what you are underneath it all._

_Sun to moon, day to night,_

_So you shall suffer until wrong is made right."_

There was a long silence once the prince had finished his recital. Then Sokka gasped as realisation dawned in his mind.

"Wait a minute!" he exclaimed. "Are you saying that this curse won't be reversed until Toph apologises to that ugly old hag?"

Katara frowned. "It does sound like that might be the case."

Sokka slumped to the ground, fluffy tail drooping. "We're going to be stuck like this forever, aren't we?"

They all looked at Toph, who was happily smashing the cliff to a pulp with her new bending powers. Then they just sighed. Yep, they were all doomed.


	3. Female Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another oldie (probably written in 2013), and based on azuremoon's prompt, 'female bonding'.

Mai heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Remind me why we're doing this again?"

"Because Azula thought we would be the best for the job," Ty Lee responded, and then lowered her voice in a conspiratorial manner. "It's the least we can do. She'll never say it aloud, but I think she's feeling quite stressed at the moment."

"I wonder why," the dark-haired girl said dryly.

Ty Lee frowned. "I think it's because she couldn't stop the Avatar, and then Zuko disappeared again, and—"

Mai rolled her eyes. "That was a rhetorical question, Ty Lee."

"Oh, right. I knew that."

They travelled in silence for a while—or, rather, Mai said nothing while Ty Lee chattered happily about cloud shapes, that cute boy with the ponytail, and what would be the best method to make Azula's aura a nice, happy pink. It was true that none of these subjects much appealed to Mai, who thought that clouds just looked like clouds, the boy with the ponytail was a loud-mouthed idiot, and auras were a pack of wishy-washy nonsense. But she still liked Ty Lee (though she'd never say it in so many words), and appreciated her friend's affectionate nature and optimism (again, not that she'd ever admit it aloud). So, instead of making another dry comment that she knew would just upset the perky brunette, she kept her mouth shut and tried not to think about how the animal she was riding smelt like fish mixed with something found under a rock.

Never mind, the smell of fishy horridness was pretty much impossible to ignore. Mai glared in subtle disgust at the creature Azula had given them to help track their quarry. Ugh, she was sure her clothes already reeked of the scent. Definitely would have to bathe once she got back to base, and maybe she'd see if any of those Fire Nation army cooks knew how to make those fruit tarts she liked. Mmm, fruit tarts.

"Hey!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "There's some white fur on the foliage. We're getting closer!"

Mai pursed her lips. "How delightful. We get to trek into the haven of dirt and bugs."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad."

A flat expression was all Ty Lee got in response.

"You know Azula would want us to keep going," the brunette pointed out, perhaps sensing that Mai was about to go into her stubborn, 'you can't make me' mode. "She said she was going to focus on the drill while we were to continue following the Avatar's trail."

"Right," Mai said with a hint of distaste. "The Avatar."

How she was beginning to loathe that name. She had thought that getting out of Omashu would be the best thing for her; she hadn't even asked Azula what the mission would entail, she was so determined to leave. But then she had discovered they were chasing Zuko and General Iroh (it still bothered her that Zuko had been labelled a traitor), and then the Avatar had come into the picture and things had just got worse. First her brother was kidnapped and got dragged into Azula's stupid games, then they were forced to follow the idiot kid and his bison all over the Earth Kingdom with no rest or any of the usual comforts she enjoyed, then she got wet because of said bison (Mai hated getting wet), and now they were about to go into a thick expanse of bush that would probably leave her looking a wreck. And it was all because of the Avatar.

"Come on, Mai," Ty Lee cajoled, hopping down from her eel-hound and fixing her friend with a bright smile. "Just think how much you'll enjoy getting to use your knives again. We haven't had a good fight since we lost the Avatar in the desert."

Mai pondered this thought for a moment. She was itching for a rematch (especially after being defeated so humiliatingly the last time), but then she didn't much care for hiking, and she knew that there was no way they would be able to take the eel-hounds into the bush; the creatures were just too big.

"Fine," she said in her expressionless way, slipping down from the eel-hound's back. "Let's get this over with."

Ty Lee clapped her hands in delight, stating that she knew her friend would come around, and then pranced into the bush. Mai followed with much more reserve, occasionally giving unimpressed looks at the tree roots and thick, overhanging leaves getting in her way. It was annoying, but nothing she couldn't handle. Fifteen minutes more of this, however, and she had twigs stuck in her hair, a few cuts on her face and hands, and her boots were covered in animal dung, which she had accidentally stepped in when climbing over a fallen tree trunk.

"Remind me why I agreed to this again?" Mai said in an echo of her earlier words, shooting a dark look at her friend.

"Aw, don't be like that, Mai." Ty Lee held her arms out as if to embrace the world. "Think of this as a time of female bonding. Just us, the trees, and—"

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet crumbled away with a rumbling sound, sending them both sliding down the now slippery slope and into a bog of muddy, foul-smelling water. Mai rolled off her friend and spat a bit of leaf out of her mouth, now drenched and dirtier than ever.

"Female bonding, huh?" she said, giving Ty Lee her most dour expression.

Ty lee gave a sheepish laugh. "Maybe it will lead to a shortcut."

Mai just closed her eyes. "Someone kill me now."


	4. A Manly Misunderstanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for kaoru's prompt, which was to write something with a Zuko and Sokka bromance.

"This isn't working, Zuko. You're being too rough."

A faint grunt. "I am not being too rough!"

"Trust me, you're being too rough. You're dealing with a delicate instrument here. You have to use it lovingly, with each careful stroke b—"

"Alright, alright! I get it, Sokka!"

"And stop squeezing it so hard. It's not a butterfly-snake you need to strangle."

An exasperated sigh. "Are you going to let me finish this or not?"

"Hey, all I'm saying is that—"

The door was suddenly wrenched open and both boys started in surprise, stepping away from each other as they turned to see Suki and Toph standing on the threshold. The Kyoshi warrior rounded on Zuko, pointing an accusing finger at his face.

"You!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing with my boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Toph chimed in before he could respond, propping herself against the wall in a negligent pose. "What _are_ you doing with her boyfriend, Zuko?"

The prince blinked. "What?"

"Don't play dumb!" Suki snapped.

A crease formed on his brow. "I'm not …"

But Suki wasn't listening and had already moved onto her next victim. "And you! How could you do this to me! I mean _Zuko_. Really?"

Sokka rubbed the base of his neck and shared a puzzled glance with the prince, who just shrugged as if to say that he didn't know why Suki had gone crazy either. Frowning, Sokka stared back at his girlfriend.

"Uh, am I missing something here? What have you got against Zuko, and what am I supposed to have done that's so bad?"

Toph grinned. "Oh, this is going to be good."

Suki clenched her hands into fists. "I can't believe you! We heard the whole thing! Toph could even feel what you were doing!"

"I was just teaching Zuko how to carve like the way we do it in the Southern Water Tribe."

Suki let out a derisive snort of laughter. "Oh, is that what they're calling it now?"

Sokka scratched his head. "What else would they call it?"

But once again Suki wasn't listening and instead went into a long rant about respect, trust, and why it was important to be faithful to one's lover—especially when said lover was a warrior with the skills to kick his butt.

"And, really, I don't know why you bothered with him," Suki continued, folding her arms under her breasts and glaring at Zuko. "From the sounds of things, he's completely useless at giving anyone pleasure. Too heavy-handed by far."

"Wait, what?" Zuko spluttered, looking both embarrassed and confused. "Just what are you trying to say?"

"Here it comes," Toph murmured, her grin widening.

"I know that you two have been seeing each other behind my back! In fact, I bet if we hadn't come in right then, Prince Jerkface over there would still have his hands down your pants!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Sokka exclaimed, making a halting motion with his hands. "Stop the canoe. Did you just say what I think you did?"

Suki glowered at him and tapped her foot on the floor. Her silence was affirmation enough. The boys exchanged a startled glance and then blushed, taking a few more steps away from each other as they both made frantic gestures and assured her that she had got it all wrong.

" _All_ wrong," Zuko repeated with much emphasis.

Toph made a show of yawning. "They're lying."

"What?" the boys cried in unison.

"Is this true?" Suki demanded.

"No!" Sokka wailed, clutching at his hair and looking like he was about to start crying in frustration.

"No!" Zuko echoed, throwing a nasty glare at the earthbender. "Toph is the liar. Believe me, I do not like Sokka in that way. I'd rather be eaten by a giant sea monster and then die a slow and painful death as I am gradually decomposed by said creature's stomach acids than touch Sokka in that way."

"Hey!" Sokka said defensively. "I'm not that bad."

"Yeah, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah, you really are. You snore, you talk too much, you think you're always right—"

"Well, at least I'm not a heavy-handed jerk!" Sokka interjected, looking a bit red in the face. "And I can actually tell a joke. What can you do? Tell a punch line!"

Zuko looked a little bit hurt, which wasn't helped by the fact that Toph chose that moment to say "Burn" with much glee. Sokka seemed to realise that he had gone too far as well and placed a hand on the prince's shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Sokka said in a more serious tone. "That was a low blow. Your jokes are funny."

"Really?" Zuko asked with a renewal of hope.

"Sure. 'Leaf me alone, I'm bushed' gets me every time."

The prince gave a lopsided smile, which Sokka returned with a broad grin of his own.

"Oh, for spirit's sake," Suki muttered, rolling her eyes. "It's like we don't even exist anymore."

Toph nodded sagely. "I told you that they had a thing together."

That did get the boys' attention.

"For the last time, we're not gay!" Zuko exploded, and then pointed to a lumpy looking bit of wood on the table. "Look, there is the boat that Sokka was trying to teach me how to carve."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "You call that a boat?"

"I think it looks great," Toph commented.

"Thank you! At least someone—" Zuko paused, then glared at the earthbender. "That wasn't funny."

She grinned. "Yeah, it was."

Sokka patted his friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

Zuko just heaved a sigh. Next time he thought he'd just pass on those carving lessons.


	5. Pretty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by omegansamurai's prompt on tumblr, which to write a cute Taang one-shot where Aang notices she looks pretty dressed up (and Toph is confused, shy, but feels happy). First time writing this pairing, so bear with me, haha.

He swallows, rubs the base of his neck. The weird feeling won't go away. There are things fluttering in his stomach, his chest. He swallows again and sneaks a glance at his friend. Someone obviously forced her to dress up for the occasion. Her hair is styled more for elegance than convenience, and the black strands contrast nicely with all the spring bud colours enfolding her in flowing cloth.

She looks soft. Pretty.

Aang's heart stutters and suddenly words are spilling from his lips. "You wow look—" A blink. What the heck? "Ah, I mean …"

Toph turns her face in his general direction. "What's that, Twinkletoes?"

He tugs at his collar, rubs his neck again. "You look good."

A blank stare. (Well, it's always a blank stare from her, but this time it's especially unnerving.)

Heat tickles his cheeks. He wishes she'd say something.

Her lips twist in a flash and she rounds on him fully. "Are you making me fun of me because I have to wear this dumb, prissy dress?"

"W-what? No!"

"Because prissy dress or not, I'm still gonna kick your—"

"No, no, no!" He holds his hands up in an appeasing gesture. "I just mean you look pretty! Like really pretty!"

There is an awkward pause. Her hand is still inches from grabbing his collar, but her scowl vanishes. Instead, she tilts her head, a few creases wrinkling her brow. His heart thumps and thumps, and then it thumps even more because ohnoshecanprobablyfeelthat! What if she thinks he has a crush on her?

Wait … _does_ he have a crush on her?

He can't deny he finds her pretty, he likes being around her, and his heart is still—

Oh no. Abort, abort! This is bad. This is _Toph_. She's going to tease him forever, and then he'll feel like even more of an idiot and he'll never be able to face her again, and—

"Huh," is all she says, lowering her hand back to her side. Pinkish colour dusts her cheeks.

Wait, is _she_ blushing?

Aang straightens a little. "Um, yeah …"

"No one's called me pretty before. Well, except Sugar Queen, but she'd call a sock pretty if she thought it'd make it feel better."

"You really do look pretty," he says earnestly.

Toph's blush darkens a little and she turns her head the other way. "Yeah, well … I still hate this dress. It's prissy and not practical for bending. And this hairstyle is giving me a headache. So don't get used to it!"

"I mean, you're pretty all the time, so …"

Aang wants to clamp his hands over his mouth. Where had that come from? Sure, it's true (he realises that now, and he's been so, so dumb not to notice before), but ugh. Stupid mouth!

She turns back to him, and there's a moment where they both just blush at each other. Then she suddenly punches him on the arm. "Yeah, alright, Twinkletoes. Enough with this pretty rubbish. Go make yourself useful and get me a drink."

"Uh, sure!"

He dashes off, though he can't resist glancing back over his shoulder at her. His heart jolts when he catches the small smile on her lips.

Oh no. He really has fallen for her.


	6. A Proposition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for **serendipitymadness** , who requested a jetko/zukka threesome scene. Writing threesomes really isn't my thing (in fact, I feel it incumbent to say I really struggle to write non-crack romance on my best days), so this is the result …

"So, threesome then?"

Zuko and Sokka both spat their tea everywhere.

"W-what?" Sokka managed to get out.

Jet stretched out more on the cushions and smiled like a cat-fox who'd found a whole pot of cream. "What? It looks like we're going to be waiting here for a while. I'm a hot guy, you're both hot guys …" He wiggled his eyebrows. "It'll be fun."

Zuko was still coughing thanks to the tea that had gone down the wrong pipe. His face got redder and redder, though whether that was from embarrassment or lack of oxygen was anyone's guess.

Sokka thoughtfully patted him on the back, then glared at Jet. "You can't just invite yourself into our relationship!"

"I'm not trying to enter it permanently. Think of it more like a … guest entrance day pass. Yeah."

"Are you kidding me? This isn't a zoo! This is our relationship, you—"

"Oh, c'mon, you can't deny you aren't curious to try the triple nation cuisine." The jerk even did that wiggle eyebrow thing again.

Sokka gave him his flattest expression. "Yeah, no."

"What about you, Lee? You game?"

Zuko was still coughing too much to make words, so he just settled for telling Jet to fuck off with his middle finger.

"Tough crowd," Jet said, not perturbed at all.

"What did you expect?" Sokka retorted. "Neither of us even want to be here with you. You were a giant dick back when we first met you, and five years later—surprising no one, I might add—you're still a giant dick."

"I have a giant one as well."

Zuko just groaned. (He had finally got his coughing under control). "Seriously, Jet? Are you twelve? And stop calling me Lee already. You know that's not my name."

"Lee, Zuko, whatever."

It clearly wasn't "whatever" to Zuko, who glowered darkly at him.

"Would you prefer me to call you Fire Lord then?" A grin. "Is that what Sokka calls you when he goes on his knees for—"

"That's it!" Zuko was on his feet. "I'm sick of your—"

"Woah, woah." Sokka grabbed onto him from behind, holding him back from attacking the smug-faced jerk. "Easy."

Jet's grin widened. "There's the temper I remember. Not gonna lie, it's still a turn on."

Both men glared at him.

"What? Just being honest."

"Please don't be honest," Zuko said, scrunching his nose in distaste. "In fact, I'd prefer it if you don't speak to me at all."

"Fine, fine." He raised his hands in an appeasing gesture. "Let's all just sit here, drink tea, and wait in boring silence."

Sokka and Zuko both glared at him a moment longer, but when he showed no sign of making any more suggestive comments (or propositions for a threesome), they relaxed and went back to sitting on their own cushions. A little longer of this blessed silence and Sokka and Zuko were naturally inclining towards each other, as they often did. Sokka ran his hand up and down his boyfriend's thigh in a lazy, absent gesture.

That was when he noticed Jet watching them intently.

"Oh, don't mind me," Jet said with his fox-cat smile. "If you two wanna have your own fun, go for it. I'm okay with watching. Just try not to block the view too much, eh?"

"You creepy little—"

This time Sokka didn't bother to stop Zuko. That bastard Jet really had it coming.


	7. Zuko's Dilemma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written back in 2012 (I think) for the 'Avatar Pants' challenge over at Promptbending. The idea was to pick one of the modified AtLA/LoK quotes from the game thread and turn it into a story. The quote I picked was one of my own submissions (post#41): Zuko: "We need pants, not tea." The real quote ("We need food, not tea") was taken from the episode 'The Cave of Two Lovers'.

Zuko was not happy. This wasn't exactly a rare occurrence for the prince, but for once his bad temper had nothing to do with Avatars, his banishment, or the fact that he was currently wandering the Earth Kingdom as a poor refugee. No, today his frustration had only one source, and that was the bearded old man next to him.

"This is all your fault, Uncle!" he snapped, curling his hands into fists. "If you had just listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"How was I supposed to know the tea would be drugged?" Iroh responded mildly. "Huā had seemed like such a sweet little thing, and she and her father had been kind enough to give us shelter in their wagon during the storm."

"Yes," Zuko gritted out bitterly, "and then they drugged us and stole all of our belongings, including our ostrich-horse."

"Ah, you are only focussing on the negatives. Even you have to admit that the tea was excellent, and at least they didn't slit our throats while we were unconscious."

Zuko closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Thank you, Uncle. Now when I think about the fact that we lost our only means of transportation—not to mention our clothes—at least I can comfort myself with the fact that they didn't kill us as well."

Iroh smiled. "I knew you would come around."

The prince just growled in frustration and stomped ahead, wincing every now and then as the soles of his bare feet connected with the sharp stones littering the road. If he had thought that he had reached an impossible low when he had first tried on his peasant's attire and seen how, well, peasantish he looked, he had to be somewhere in the pits of ultimate shame right now. No boots, no swords, no tunic, and—

"What I wouldn't give for some ginger tea right now," Iroh sighed. "I still feel a little woozy from whatever it was Huā put in our drinks."

"We need pants, not tea!"

Iroh glanced down at the brown loincloth wrapped around his nether regions, which was the only thing he was wearing. "Pants would be nice," he admitted, and then he gave a broad grin. "But I still wouldn't say no to a hot cup of ginger tea."

Zuko made an exasperated noise and threw his hands up in the air, indicating that he washed his hands clean of the old man. He gave up. He really did. In fact, if he heard one more word about tea he was going to be sick—which was already a possibility considering he was stuck looking at his uncle wearing a loincloth. Let it be known that a chubby, wrinkly man wearing only a small amount of fabric for clothes was not a pretty sight.

"Stupid old man," Zuko muttered, quickening his pace. "Everything always has to be about tea with him, and look where his infernal obsession got us! Pantless in the middle of nowhere!"

It was something that Zuko could not forgive, for he had also not been able to escape the stripping process and was now similarly attired to his uncle, though his loincloth was green. The prince had never felt so humiliated. He had never felt so furious. He had never felt so—

"No," Zuko groaned, coming to a halt.

Iroh frowned. "Why have you stopped, Nephew? Did you see something?"

Wordlessly, Zuko pointed to where a familiar woman riding a shirshu could be seen making her way towards them. The prince saw the smile that curved her full lips when she recognised them, and he felt his cheeks warm in a hot blush. He was not surprised when she slowed right down until she was barring their way. June had always delighted in tormenting him.

"Well, well, well," the bounty hunter drawled in her husky voice, still with that disquieting smile playing on her lips, "if it isn't Prince Pouty and his creepy grandfather."

"Uncle, actually," Iroh interposed, as if this would make him more appealing to the younger woman. "And I must say that it is a pleasure to see y—"

"Whatever," June said dismissively, and then her eyes fixed back on Zuko. "What's the matter, Pouty? Lose your girlfriend and your clothes this time?"

"The waterbender is not my girlfriend!" Zuko snapped, clenching his hands into fists. "And I didn't lose my clothes; I just—"

"Decided to take a stroll in your undergarments?" June suggested, and her dark eyes drifted down his exposed body, lingering on the area where the green fabric covered. "Well, at least the view has improved this time."

"I—what?" he spluttered, cheeks flushed.

Her smile widened a fraction, but she said nothing and simply shifted her attention to Iroh. It must be noted that her gaze did not stray from his face. "So, old man, since Prince Pouty here is currently incapable of speech, why don't you tell me what happened?"

Iroh's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Very well. It all started when—"

"We don't have time for this!" Zuko snarled, finding his voice again. "Uncle, we have to keep moving if we want to catch up with those thieves." He threw a glare at June. "Unless you actually plan on making yourself useful, bounty hunter, I suggest you clear off so that we can carry on our way."

June's eyes narrowed and she slipped off the shirshu and came to stand in front of the prince, getting right up in his space. Zuko didn't budge, though he was frustratingly conscious of the disparity in their clothing. It was difficult to feel intimidating when you were only wearing a loincloth while the other was dressed in leathers and holding a whip. Especially when the other was an attractive female.

"Word from the wise, Pouty," June said in a dangerously silky voice. "You might be a prince, but that title means nothing now that you're a wanted man by the Fire Nation, and it means even less to me. I take orders from no one."

Zuko's chin jutted, and he opened his mouth to make what was no doubt going to be a very rude response when Iroh got there before him.

"You are absolutely right, June," Iroh said in a placating voice, "and we would not dream of ordering you to do anything." He gave her his most charming smile. "Though if you were kind enough to assist two old friends with your skills—of your own choice, of course—it would certainly be much appreciated."

June stared at them with a measuring look and then folded her arms. "Show me the colour of your money and then we might talk."

Zuko let out a huff of frustration. "You know we don't have any money! We wouldn't even be having this conversation if we still had money!"

She gave a careless shrug. "Then I guess you'll stay pantless and I'll keep enjoying my earnings."

"Wait!" Iroh cried, before she could turn to leave. "We can't pay you now, but we will be able to pay you later. Isn't that right, Nephew?"

Zuko blinked as he thought of their meagre collection of copper and silver pieces. "Uh, sure."

June raised one finely arched eyebrow. It was obvious that she didn't believe them.

"All we're asking is that you take us to the thieves who stole our belongings," Iroh continued, ignoring her scepticism. "The wagon can't have got too far ahead, and—"

"Or I could just collect the bounty on your heads," June suggested. "That would get me my money."

Zuko and Iroh exchanged an uneasy glance. It had suddenly occurred to both that capturing them might be the very reason for why June was even travelling on this road. She had no allegiance to any nation—only to the highest bidder for her services. Right now, Zuko and Iroh were far from the highest bidders.

"Don't look so pale," June said with a laugh. "You didn't think I'd really turn in my favourite royal clients, did you? Who would I go to for my entertainment?"

Zuko's mouth twisted into a scowl and he shoved past her, fuming at the fact that she had dared to make a mockery of him. _Again_. "Forget this, Uncle. It's obvious that she's not going to help. Let's just go."

June smiled lazily. "Wait."

The prince paused, gritting his teeth.

"You know, it just occurred to me that I still owe you a favour for the abbey incident."

Gold eyes locked with brown. "Just what are you saying?"

"I'll help you with your pants problem." Her gaze flickered to Iroh. "Anything to make Uncle Lazy over there put some clothes on."

Iroh chuckled heartily, taking no offence at this statement. Zuko just glowered.

"How can we know that we can trust you?" he demanded, folding his arms across his chest.

She leapt back onto Nyla and stared down at him with an amused glint in her eyes. "You can't, of course, but then you don't have much of a choice unless you want to try catch up to that wagon on your own."

Zuko sighed in resignation and jumped up to sit behind her on the saddle. Iroh soon joined them, taking the seat behind the prince.

"Better hold on, Pouty," June taunted. "We wouldn't want you to lose anything else now, would we?"

Zuko was about to respond when she cracked her whip down with a snap, making the shirshu jolt into action and Zuko grip her waist with a gasp as he was almost unseated from the motion. His cheeks warmed as he heard the bounty hunter's laughter echo in his ears.

This just really wasn't turning out to be his day.


	8. There's Just One Problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another oldie. You have Advocaat to thank for this one, who suggested gender swap when I bemoaned having no fic ideas.

Zuko groaned and rolled over in the bed. His head was pounding in a dull tattoo. He made a blind grab for the blanket to pull it up over his face, only to pause as his hand came into contact with something solid and warm. Something that felt disturbingly like a naked—

His eyes snapped open, catching a glimpse of a sweaty male chest and—and he was going to be sick. Zuko ducked over the side of the bed and retched up the contents of his stomach, still making little moans of horror as he grabbed fistfuls of dark hair to stop the strands from getting caught in the foul-smelling stuff. This was not happening. This was _so_ not happening.

He chanced a glance over his shoulder, but the sweaty naked man was still there. All colour drained from his cheeks, and then he was back to retching. Sweet spirits, this was really happening. This was really, really happening!

 _Just breathe_ , he told himself, wiping the bile from his mouth. _Breathe. There has to be a rational explanation for this._

Because there was no way in hell that he had—

An arm looped around his waist. "Hey there, beautiful," a man's voice murmured near his ear. "I didn't think you'd stay till morning."

Zuko froze. His eyes widened in alarm at the feeling of that sweaty body brushing against his back, and he could feel a big meaty hand gripping his hip and—

A split second later the man was flipped onto the floor and Zuko was standing over him, breathing hard. "Don't touch me!"

Except his voice didn't come out quite how he had expected. Instead of a low male rasp, it was more of a low female rasp. A rather familiar rasp, which had often taunted him and called him ridiculous names, ranging from 'Angry Boy' to 'Prince Pouty', and which just last night had mocked him for refusing to drink anything alcoholic and, in general, behaving like a stick-up-the-arse killjoy (translation: responsible person). That was when Zuko noticed that his black hair was a lot longer than it should be, and that there were two rather distracting mounds of flesh getting in the way of his vision. He gave one an experimental prod.

"Spirits," he breathed, grasping hold of both bouncy mounds and weighing them with his hands. "They're actually real."

The naked man sprawled on the floor let his mouth drop open. It was obvious that he was confused by the prince's behaviour. Zuko also started to get a wriggly, awful feeling in his stomach, because it was finally beginning to sink in that he was holding boobs. Real boobs. And they were stuck to his chest—his very feminine chest. He also noticed that there was a rather important part of his anatomy missing between his legs.

Zuko locked eyes with the naked man. A man who was burly and tattooed, and who looked a lot like that thick-skulled mercenary who had been flirting with a rather drunk bounty hunter last night. Naked man blinked. Zuko's stomach did the wriggly thing again.

"No," he muttered, stumbling over to the bathroom where he knew he would find a mirror. "No, no, no!"

Zuko leaned his hands against the sink and stared at his reflection. A woman with brown eyes and full, kissable lips stared back at him. A damn woman.

That was when Prince Zuko screamed.

oOo

"Uncle!"

He barged into the room with a dramatic fling of the door, standing on the threshold with his—June's ... gah, whatever!—hair in a mess around his face, and wearing nothing but a hastily thrown on tunic that he wasn't even sure was hers. This didn't seem to bother his uncle, however, who set down his tea with an unnerving smile. It was the one he used on old ladies when he wanted to charm them into giving him an extra cup of tea for free. Zuko barely repressed a shudder.

"Ah, June," Iroh said, standing up and walking towards him with an appreciative glint in his eyes. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Enough of that! Uncle, it's me!"

Iroh's brow creased. "Are you feeling alright, June?"

"No!" Zuko wailed, clutching at his hair. "Aren't you listening to me? I'm trying to tell you that—"

"I know what you need!" Iroh interrupted, raising his finger to the air. "A nice cup of calming jasmine tea."

"I don't need any calming tea! I just need you to shut up and listen to me for a moment!"

Iroh blinked. Zuko glared. Suddenly, something shifted in those amber irises, even as the old man paled and leaned forward, staring into his eyes as if searching for the other's soul.

"Nephew?" Iroh said in disbelief.

Just in that moment the bathroom door slammed open and a bare-chested boy with messy dark hair strode into the room. "What the hell is going on?" Zuko-who-was-not-Zuko demanded.

"You tell me!" Zuko retorted, pushing past his uncle and clenching his hands into fists. "I wake up this morning to find I'm naked in bed with some sweaty gross man, and I'm in your body, and—" But at this point he got quite choked up on his feelings and could only wave his hands angrily. "Just give me my body back!"

June folded her arms, popping her hip out in a very feminine gesture. "Well, I'd love to, Prince Pouty, but there's just one problem. I don't know how we got like this in the first place."

Iroh stared from one to the other, then he just shook his head. "I think I need to sit down."

Neither paid attention to this interruption. Instead, Zuko got right up in June's space, breathing so hard in his anger that if he were still able to firebend, he would have been snorting fire. Vaguely, it occurred to him that they were the same height.

"Look," he growled, poking her in the chest. "I am not staying in this body. I don't care if you don't know how it happened. Just fix it!"

"You fix it!" She poked him right back. "It's obvious this is your fault."

"My fault?"

She gave a blasé shrug. "Hey, I was just enjoying a nice, relaxing evening with some alcohol and a man who was willing to lavish all of his attention on me. I certainly never asked to get stuck in a teenage brat's body."

Zuko's mouth twisted into a scowl. "Well, I never asked to get stuck in some, some—"

Her one good eyebrow lifted. "Some what?"

The prince, whose mind had decided to kindly remind him of what his current body looked like without clothes, could only let out another of his frustrated little growls, even as his cheeks flooded with pink. "Look, I didn't ask for this either, alright?"

June's eyes glinted with humour as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. Zuko felt his cheeks burn even hotter. This was so unfair.

Iroh stroked his beard. "It seems like the two of you have become victims to a spirit's act of mischief. This is going to make things difficult."

"What do you mean, Uncle?"

"Well, unless you can find the spirit and ask it to change you back to your original selves—which neither of you can, since only the Avatar can communicate with the spirits—I'm afraid the only way to reverse the magic is to figure out the counter spell." He shook his head. "And that could be anything."

The colour faded from Zuko's cheeks. "Are you telling me that we're stuck like this?"

Iroh held his hands out in a placating gesture. "Of course not. I'm just saying that you will either need to request the Avatar's help with the spirits or perform the specific action that was designed to break whatever spell has been placed on you." He picked up his cup of tea. "You might want to hurry as well. These things become permanent after a while."

Zuko straightened to his full height. "We don't have time to find the Avatar. We'll just have to figure out this counter spell and reverse the magic ourselves."

June tapped her foot. "And how do you plan to do that?"

He glared at her. "I don't know! All I know is that I refuse to be stuck in this body any longer, so you are going to help me figure out the counter spell, or I swear I will—"

The prince broke off as a cup of steaming tea was thrust before his nose.

"What is this?" he demanded, gazing at his uncle. "Do you think it will help us switch back?"

"Well, no," Iroh admitted with a twinkle in his eyes. "I just thought you looked like you needed it."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. Spirits grant him patience, or at least an uncle who wasn't so obsessed with tea.

June leaned against the wall, watching the two with an air of faint amusement. "So, what's the plan?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest. "Are we going to sit here drinking tea all morning or are we actually going to try breaking this spell? I don't have all day, you know."

"Right," Zuko said, dropping his hand back to his side and turning to face the woman currently inhabiting his body. "I think I have an idea for how we might be able to switch back."

"Keep talking."

"We've switched bodies, right?"

June heaved a sigh. "No, really? And here I thought I always wake up in the morning with a pe—"

"I think we get the picture," Zuko said hastily, blushing to the tips of his ears. "Anyway, I figured that maybe if we run into each other hard enough, we might be able to force ourselves back into the right bodies."

She stared at him blankly, but Zuko knew it was the 'You Can't Be Serious' expression, because he made it all the time when his uncle tried to flirt with younger women. It was kind of surreal to be on the receiving end of it now.

"What?" he said defensively, folding his arms. "It might work."

June rolled her eyes. "Hate to break it to you, Pouty, but I am not going to have a head-on collision with you on the off-chance that it might jolt my consciousness back into my body. If you've heard the legends, you would know that spirit magic doesn't work that way."

"But—"

"In fact, I have a much better idea," she continued, advancing towards him.

Zuko frowned. "What's tha—ah!"

A hand gripped his tunic and tugged him in for a kiss. His eyes widened as he stared at the scarred teen pressing his mouth all up against his. That was his face. Spirits, he was kissing himself, and this was so weird, and—

June fisted a hand in his hair, and he made a muffled sound as she deepened the kiss. Tongue. There was a tongue in his mouth, and it was _his_ tongue, and this was just so, so wrong. And his hands really should not be gripping her—his?—shoulders right now. And he most definitely should not be kissing her back, or making those noises, or—

A jolt surged through him like lightning caressing his spine that then spread out in tendrils of shocks throughout his body. He gasped into the kiss, feeling his skin tingle and hum with energy, and then it all stopped. When Zuko opened his eyes again, he had one hand gripping a fistful of dark hair and his mouth pressed against full, kissable lips. Said kissable lips then curved into a smile, and the woman pulled away from him, tugging on his bottom lip with her teeth as she did so.

"Told you my plan was better," she said in a silky taunt, her brown eyes glittering with amusement.

Zuko blinked. Then he blinked some more. Then he just opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

June patted him on the cheek. "You can thank me later."

He blushed and watched as she took her leave, declaring to the room at large that she'd had enough of spirit magic for one day and had a bounty to catch. Once she had shut the door behind her, he let out a deep breath.

"Uncle?"

Iroh gazed at the teen. "Yes, Nephew?"

"I think I'd like some of that calming tea now."


	9. An Informal Introduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for ShoeNinja for being my 500th reviewer for _The Undying Fire_ over on FFN. She asked for Urzai, a 'practical joke' theme, and humour. Needless to say, I ignored any 'canon' that had arisen from the comics.

It was just a practical joke. Or at least that was what the noble girls told Ursa after ensuring that she fell into one of the ponds, leaving her drenched and red with humiliation. She had opened her mouth to retort, to put the stuck-up city girls in their place once and for all, but the words got caught in her throat. Instead, she felt the horrifying sting of tears burning her eyes. This was just one cruel trick too many.

Desperate to save some of her dignity, she picked up her wet skirts and made a retreat for one of the rooms adjoining the garden. Her tormentors' laughter followed her like a mocking shadow, and it was with relief when she finally pushed aside the doors and escaped the prying eyes of the other guests. At least, she had thought she was alone until she tripped over something and landed on a man's lap, hands splayed on his chest.

"I am so sorry," she began in a flustered voice, and then she froze.

She had finally raised her eyes to look at the man's face, and what she saw made the colour drain from her cheeks. His black hair was long and pulled into a half-topknot to allow the flame-like hairpiece to rest on his head. His features were angular and exceedingly handsome, drawing attention to a pair of rather piercing gold eyes. She didn't much care for the thin beard he was sporting, but there was still no mistaking him. She had fallen on top of the Fire Lord's younger son.

"P-Prince Ozai!"

She tried to scramble off him yet only succeeded in stumbling again. Hands clutched at her waist, steadying her so that she did not fall. Ursa let out a shaky breath, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks as she met his intimidating gaze. Spirits, she was getting water all over him, and here she was just a country nobody—even if she was Avatar Roku's granddaughter. People were probably killed for less.

Ozai's mouth curved into a faint smile. "You're very clumsy, you know that?" he observed, releasing her waist.

Ursa's cheeks went from red to a deep plum. "I-I'm not normally. I mean, I just, uh ..." She swallowed and lowered herself to her knees, bowing her head as was customary. "It was an accident."

"So I gathered," he responded evenly, standing up from his chair so that he was towering over her. "However, that doesn't explain why you are wet or why you chose to run into this booth in the first place."

She lowered her head even further. "It's a long story, Prince Ozai. Nothing that would interest you."

"Try me."

She risked a glance up and saw that he was staring straight at her, his gold eyes glinting with curiosity. Nothing could be more awkward than to be drenched from head to foot and have the full attention of Prince Ozai, especially when she considered that the whole reason she was wet was because the other noble girls did not like the 'new, country girl' whose bloodline was better than theirs, and (according to gossip) whose beauty had caught the eye of more than one highly eligible bachelor.

Ursa bit her lip and lowered her gaze back to the hem of his robe. "It was just a silly prank. It happens when one is new to the capital."

His mouth twitched. "That is not such a long story."

"I do not wish to bore you with my problems, Prince Ozai."

He laughed lightly, and as she risked another glance up at him, she couldn't help but wonder why he had been hiding in the booth. For now that she thought about it, the prince should have been out there celebrating with his brother, not cooped up in this little room with only a drink and a bedraggled girl for company. Perhaps he had also not been enjoying the festival.

Ozai held out his hand to her, giving her no choice but to accept and let him raise her back to her feet. "What is your name?" he asked, meeting her gaze with those intense gold eyes.

"My name is Ursa, Prince Ozai. Daughter of Jinzuk and Rina."

"Ursa," he repeated softly. "I will remember that."

Her heart gave an odd flutter in her chest, and then he was releasing her hand and walking through the doors, leaving her alone in the booth. Ursa stared after his retreating figure, struggling to make sense of what had just happened and the tangled mixture of feelings burning inside her.

When she left the booth, she could still feel the imprint of his hand clasping hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I actually started this intending it to be a really awkward 'hey, I like you' conversation on Ozai's part (because Azula and Zuko had to get it from somewhere), but somehow it turned into this instead.


	10. The Problem with Hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have scorchedtrees to thank for this one. Prompt was "um. zuko. and appa. and haircuts. Idk." Needless to say, I couldn't resist.

Appa had always had an affinity for Zuko. Sneak-attack slobber kisses were a common occurrence for the prince, as were tackle-hugs that looked more like the air bison was trying to flatten his supposed favourite. Each of the team of adventurers had their own opinion regarding this inexplicable affection. Katara (along with Haru and Teo) figured it was just because Zuko had rescued Appa from Ba Sing Se's underground Evil Brainwashing Lair. Toph said that so long as no one expected her to give Zuko slobbery kisses, she didn't care either way. The Duke also wasn't concerned, but he would really like it if he could play with those awesome looking swords Zuko carried around on his back. Sokka still clung to the "rolled in honey" theory, while Aang just said that Appa had good taste, 'cause Zuko was actually kind of cool (and smart!), and he liked it when they did dragon dancing together. Oh, wait. He wasn't supposed to call it a dance, and—

Ahem. Anyway, the point was that Appa's love for Zuko was quite a remarkable thing, until, almost several weeks later, Sokka thought he had finally found the answer.

They had lost three members of their group (though gained one more, which Sokka didn't mind at all since Suki was gorgeous, could kick butt, and wasn't opposed to snuggles and kisses). In any case, the "Gaang" were now taking up residence at the Fire Lord's summer home, courtesy of Zuko. Toph was lazing on a hammock, wriggling her grubby toes and having what looked like a 'How Far Can I Flick My Snot' competition with herself. (It was kind of amusing to see Suki just sit there staring at Toph in disgusted fascination.) Zuko and Aang were practicing firebending, as usual, while Katara fussed over Appa, measuring shaggy tufts of white hair in her hands and making tutting noises. Sokka simply observed them all with Momo perched on his shoulder, thoughts drifting and scattering as the heat of the day got to him.

"Your fur is getting way too long, Appa," Katara said with a frown. She grabbed a fistful of his fur and held it up at him. "Look, you can barely see when you're wearing your armour. This shaggy white stuff you call hair is all in the way."

Appa made a rumbling sound and shook off his helmet, letting it clatter to the ground. Katara just made another tutting noise and kept fussing about his fur. Sokka was about to close his eyes and shut all of them out when Momo made a chittering sound and flew off towards Aang, who was now walking towards them from the courtyard. Judging by the young boy's downcast eyes and drooping bottom lip, his firebending session hadn't gone well. One look at Zuko confirmed Sokka's suspicion. The prince looked tired and resigned, running a hand through his shaggy black hair and—

"I've got it!" Sokka exclaimed, standing bolt upright.

Everyone stared at him. Even Toph deigned to stop flicking her snot so she could listen.

"Got what?" Suki asked, staring at her boyfriend as if he had grown a second head.

"I figured out why Appa likes Zuko so much," Sokka explained with a teeth-flashing grin. "They both have shaggy hair!"

There was a long pause.

"That makes no sense," Zuko said, scrunching his face in confusion … or possibly irritation. "Besides, my hair isn't shaggy."

Aang let out a snort of laughter. "Um, I dunno about that. Sokka kind of has a point."

He pointed at each of them in turn, directing everyone's gaze to the bison and boy with the long hair that fell in their eyes in loose strands. Suki giggled, seeing the similarity and even Katara cracked a smile. Zuko just stood there self-consciously, folding his arms across his chest in a sign that he was not impressed.

"This is ridiculous," Zuko muttered, going a bit red in the face. "Appa does not like me because of my hair, and our hair is not the same. I mean, look at him." He pointed at the bison, who stared back through soulful brown eyes. "Appa is just a big fluffball. He might as well be a cloud with all that fur."

Toph leapt off her hammock and marched towards the prince. Suddenly, she was creating a rock elevator for herself and tugging on Zuko's hair. "Oh, you're right," she said placidly, ignoring Zuko's choked sounds of pain and the hands that tried to snatch hers away. "His hair really is long."

"Quit it!" Zuko snapped, finally grabbing hold of Toph's wrists and then swung her up over his shoulder so that she couldn't torment him.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Toph cried, though she didn't seem overly troubled. In fact, she sent a pointed bit of earth at his backside, causing him to yelp and release her.

Zuko rubbed his bruised backside and glowered at the earthbender, who simply laughed and made one of her usual cocky remarks. (Sokka was losing track of the number of times Toph one-upped a member of the group; the little blind demon had a knack for it.) In any case, while all of this scuffling and teasing was going on, Katara began to look rather pensive.

"You know, Sokka does have a point," she observed, tilting her head to the side as she stared at the prince.

Zuko swung round to face her, his eyes wide with disappointment. "Not you too, Katara! I expected better from you."

She laughed. "Not the Appa theory, but that your hair is getting pretty long." She gave his fringe a light tug. "Doesn't it get in the way?"

Zuko's cheeks dusted with pink and he brushed her hands away from his face. "It's fine."

She pursed her lips. "Don't be ridiculous. I could give it a trim, you know. Then you'd be able to see better."

Sokka grinned. "Here we go. You're in for it now."

Zuko looked a bit confused, but Katara was already turning to give orders to the others. Suki needed to find something they could use to cut hair, Aang had to take the rest of Appa's armour off and give him a bath so that she could give the bison a haircut too ('cause both of them needed it), and Sokka and Toph ...

"Just don't get in the way," she said flatly.

"Hey, I resent that!" Sokka retorted. "Just what are you saying?"

"Yeah!" Toph chimed in.

Katara raised an eyebrow. "You know exactly what I'm saying. I don't want any fighting, no fake wigs or moustaches or anything else that involves using hair for silly things. Just don't."

"Yes, Mum," Sokka and Toph muttered in unison.

Katara's eyes narrowed a fraction, but she seemed to feel her little Team Mum rant had still done the trick and moved onto tormenting other unfortunate souls. Namely, Zuko and Appa. It didn't matter how much Zuko protested that his hair was fine and that he didn't need a haircut, Katara was not taking no for an answer and forcibly pressed the older boy onto a stool, where she proceeded to snip at the black strands that veiled his face before he could even contemplate fleeing. Zuko had no choice but to stay put unless he wanted to be stabbed with a pair of scissors or have his hair mutilated.

Sokka almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"How about you really go for the Appa look and give him a nice bowl cut?" Sokka suggested innocently.

Zuko's eyes flashed. "Don't you dare. And stop giving her ideas," he added, throwing a scowl at Sokka.

Katara gripped Zuko's jaw with her fingers, holding his head in place. "Stop moving."

"Sorry," he muttered, going a bit red in the cheeks.

Sokka just laughed and took a bite of his apple. "That's right, Zuko. Be a good hair model and sit still."

The prince ignored him.

Sokka suddenly sucked in an exaggerated breath. "Oooh, that was a bit short. Better fix that one, Katara. Don't want him to look lopsided."

"I'll make you lopsided in a minute," Zuko began in a threatening growl.

And was promptly scolded for moving again.

Sokka sniggered and was about to take another bite of his apple when Katara flicked her hand back, whacking it out of his grasp with a water whip. The apple rolled on the ground and fell in a patch of dirt, making it quite inedible.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, standing up in indignation.

"What did I tell you?" she asked coolly, not even looking at him.

Sokka's shoulders drooped. "Not to get in the way."

Katara just continued snipping at Zuko's hair, having made her point. Sokka sighed and rested his chin on his hands. Well, this was no fun. Watching Zuko get a haircut wasn't entertaining if he couldn't tease the prince at the same time. Though it was still funny to watch the older boy blush and stutter as Katara got all up in his space and fussed over him.

"There," she said, stepping back and lowering the scissors.

Zuko felt his hair, tugging at the strands to test the length. He sighed in relief. No lopsidedness there (much to Sokka's disappointment). "Thanks," he said, giving Katara a crooked grin. "This does make it easier."

She smiled in response. "See, I told you there was no reason to kick up a fuss."

Zuko's smile widened a fraction. "Yeah, I guess."

A crease formed on Sokka's brow. Were those two having a _moment_? Judging by Toph's fake-gagging motions, it seemed she thought this was the case. Well, call him seal-turtle in sandals! He'd had no idea there was something going on between those two. Poor Aang.

"Hey, Katara," Sokka called, and inclined his head to where Aang was drying Appa with gusts of wind. "You gonna do the big fluff ball now?"

"Right," she said, distracted from her _moment_.

Sokka watched her give one last smile at Zuko and then head over to Aang and Appa. He folded his arms and frowned down at the prince. "How do you do it?"

"Huh?"

Sokka just shook his head. He didn't think he would ever understand the appeal Zuko had for girls (or bisons, for that matter). The guy was scarred, awkward, waaaaay too broody, and couldn't tell a joke to save himself, but apparently there was something there since females seemed to sigh versus to his eyebrow and fawn all over the prince wherever the Gaang went. Even Katara wasn't immune.

"Must be the hair," Sokka decided.


	11. Stuck on a Limb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You've got Advocaat to thank for this cracky idea. I drew some Zutara Halloween fanart and she was all "when I first glimpsed the picture I thought Katara had a massive peg leg and I lol'd when I realized it was her broom." Thus, Pegtara was born.
> 
> Be warned, there will be puns.

There is something to be said for not offending an all-powerful spirit with one leg and severe self-control issues. Katara realised now that she should have known better. After all, a panda had once kidnapped her brother, a giant owl had tried to trap her for eternity in a sandy prison (not to mention eat Momo), and whatever had been creating the spooky effects in the Foggy Swamp hadn't been too keen on inviting her for afternoon tea either.

But the fact remained that she had always managed to slither out of those tricky situations. This time, however, she just felt stuck out on a limb. Literally.

Katara pointed her finger accusingly at the spirit—er, woman, er, ox-dragon thing—and glared with all her might. "You give my leg back right now!"

Ox lady cackled and folded her wings behind her back, balancing her considerable bulk on one hairy hoof. "Foolish human. You have offended the great Chao! I will make you suffer for your rudeness!"

Katara jutted her chin. "Listen here, you just can't go around stealing people's legs!"

"Actually, I can," Chao said. "I can do whatever I like. I am the spirit of these mountains and you are just a silly girl."

"But—"

Chao held up one claw-tipped finger. Instantly, Katara found that she could not speak. A smile curled the spirit's scaly but decidedly human face. "I'm only going to say this once, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, so listen closely."

Katara's eyes narrowed from where she sat on the ground, one-legged and mute.

"I don't like you," Chao continued. "You are a rude, nasty little girl who thinks you can do what you like because you're friends with the Avatar. Well, the little baldy isn't here to save you right now, and I think it's high time you learn your lesson." She clicked her fingers and a smooth, tanned leg hovered in the air.

"My leg!" Katara shouted … except, of course, no sound came out.

Chao leaned forward, almost poking Katara in the face with her horns. "Those who worship me live by the mantra that 'one is enough'. I have one leg because I am in no need of another; I am the balance in absence, becoming whole in my focus on the one." Her tail curled around Katara's neck, tightening just enough to put pressure on her windpipe. "But you, foolish little human, do not appreciate the power of my one-legged form. You called me a hobbling idiot with as much intelligence as my ability to stand on two legs."

Katara had the grace to blush. So maybe that comment had been a bit much, but Chao had started it! All Katara had wanted was to get some water. (They had lost all of their supply when they were forced to flee the Western Air Temple.) How was she to know that some cantankerous, one-legged spirit had taken up residence in the area and wasn't inclined to share?

"I could just kill you, of course," Chao mused, oblivious to Katara's thoughts, "but then where would be the fun in that? You'd be just another corpse to stink up my mountains, and then I'd have to deal with pest control, and I can tell you that having an infestation of fire termite-roaches is no joke; horrid little things get into everything. But that's not the point. The point is that you"—she pointed her finger at Katara—"need to learn some respect for one-legged creatures, so one-legged you shall be!"

Katara's eyes widened in horror and she opened and closed her mouth in silent protest. Chao just cackled and removed her tail from around Katara's throat, letting the waterbender slump to the ground.

"Farewell, brat!" Chao taunted, giving a clawed salute. "Give my regards to the Avatar."

The next thing Katara knew the spirit had vanished in a puff of smoke (with much cackling), leaving Katara alone in her now one-legged state. She just sat there for a moment in shock. Then, as if a switch had flipped in her mind, an aggravated scream escaped her throat and she slammed her fist against the ground. That horrible, hobbling spirit! She couldn't believe that Chao had stolen her leg! Her _leg_! Katara was furious! Even the realisation that she had her voice back couldn't comfort her.

"You won't get away with this, Chao!" she shouted to the surrounding trees.

There was no response. Chao had really left her, and Katara was really one-legged.

A lump formed in her throat and her eyes began to sting. She stared at where her missing limb should be and sniffed, feeling fat tear drops slide down her cheeks. Anger was quickly turning to despair, and she might have sat there and cried for hours had a rustling in the bushes not sent a zap of adrenaline through her blood. Something was coming.

Katara summoned her water and waited with bated breath, watching for a sight of whatever was causing the dramatic rustling. A glimpse of pale skin, shaggy black hair. She groaned in frustration. Of course it had to be him.

"Zuko," she said flatly.

Said boy paused in mid-step. He gazed at her slumped figure and then his jaw dropped. "What in the—what happened to your leg?"

Katara scowled and folded her arms. "That's none of your business."

"But you only have one le—"

"A spirit stole it, alright! I tried to get some water for the campsite, some weird, one-legged thing appeared and wouldn't let me, and I got angry, and—" She gestured dramatically at the space where her missing limb should have been. "Behold, the one-legged waterbender."

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh … okay."

Katara's eyes flashed. "Okay. I tell you that a spirit stole one of my legs and all you can say is okay?"

He shrugged. "I once got forced to play 'I Spy' by a dragonmoose wearing a tiara. Spirits do weird things."

Katara had no response. Instead, she just gave him her best 'you are an idiot, and I will maim you unless you stop making stupid comments' look. Thankfully, the prince took the hint and came over to assist her.

"Here," he said, extending his hand, "let me help you to your feet … uh, foot.

Her eyes narrowed. "You really want to go there, Zuko?"

He did not, though his mouth was suspiciously twitchy, like he was trying hard not to laugh. Katara resisted the urge to clobber him and instead gripped his hand, letting him pull her to a standing position. And then swayed. Having one less leg had thrown off her balance and she found herself pressed against his chest as she lost her footing.

"You alright?" he asked, steadying her with warm hands on her waist.

Her cheeks heated. "I'm fine," she muttered, hopping away from him and holding her arms out like an acrobat to regain her balance. "Just finding it a little hard to adjust to—ahh!"

She toppled sideways and once again found herself sprawled against Zuko, and rather ungracefully at that. He sighed in a resigned way and placed one arm under her legs—er, leg—and then, before she could even react, swept her up so that he was carrying her bridal-style. Katara's eyes widened as she became very conscious of his toned chest and how his arms were all around her, and—oh no, no, no! He was much, much too close. If her cheeks were hot before, they were positively on fire now.

"What are you—you just can't ..." She spluttered a few more fragments of words that didn't make much sense, but Zuko ignored her protests.

"You have one leg, Katara," he said bluntly. "Unless you want to hop and stumble all the way back to camp, I suggest you let me carry you. It will be much faster."

Rather than admit he made a logical point, she chose to ease her frustration by raising her chin as haughtily as possible and maintaining a dignified silence. It didn't work. In truth, it was difficult to maintain a dignified anything while being carried by a boy you only reluctantly called an ally, and all because you lost a leg to some overgrown ox-woman thing. The only good thing about being rescued by Zuko was that he wasn't much of a conversationalist (their relationship, after all, was rather tense), and she wasn't in the mood for chit-chat, so their trip back to camp was pretty silent except for a few monosyllabic remarks. Unfortunately, she couldn't say the same for her brother.

Sokka was alarmed to discover that his baby sister had lost a leg to some grumpy spirit. However, in true Sokka fashion, he also wanted her to appreciate the funny side of the situation. Indeed, as soon as he got over his initial shock, he seemed to make it his mission to annoy her with his poor attempts at humour.

"Wait, wait, I've got another one!" he declared, raising his finger to the air like a grand philosopher.

Everyone groaned.

Sokka grinned from ear to ear. "What do you call a one-legged waterbender?"

More groaning.

"A water hopper!"

Suki covered her ears. "Someone make it stop."

Katara flicked her wrist, hitting her brother upside the head with a water whip. "Would you quit it already?" she snapped. "Just because I had my leg stolen doesn't make me deaf."

"No," Sokka agreed, "but it does make you unstable." He laughed at his own joke and even had to wipe a tear from his eye. "Get it? She's unstable because she's got one leg, and—"

Katara narrowed her eyes. Sokka made an odd noise like 'meep' and closed his mouth. Even Toph, who had found the jokes funny at first, looked like she wanted to strangle the older boy. Only Zuko seemed unfazed by Sokka's quest to pun them all into oblivion. Then again, the prince could only tell punchlines, so she didn't exactly rate his idea of humour as five-star material.

In short, life was not looking good for Katara. She had lost a leg, lost her dignity, and now she was being inflicted with bad puns and cheeky remarks, as if she really wanted to be told that her name should be changed to Ihop, or that she didn't have to worry about getting frostbite in both feet now.

So it was with great relief that she saw Aang swoop down on his glider to join the group. Finally, someone who would be actually useful! Katara wasted no time in explaining her predicament to Aang, with the help of the others. When she was finished, she stared at the airbender expectantly.

"So, is there anything you can do?" she asked.

Aang scratched his head. "Well, I can find Chao in the Spirit World and reason with her, but that's about all I can do. She'll have to be the one to give your leg back." He ducked his head, looking a bit sheepish that he couldn't help her more. "Sorry."

Katara clenched her hands into fists. This was a disaster! There was no saying when she would be able to get her leg back, and what was she supposed to do about getting around places for now? She could barely hop without wanting to fall over.

"I could always make you a peg leg," Sokka offered, when she stated as much.

"Like a pirate!" Aang exclaimed, grinning in enthusiasm. Then a crease formed on his brow. ""Though, to be honest, I haven't liked pirates half as much since they tried to kidnap me that one time."

"And they tried to kill me," Zuko added.

"You tried to kill all of us!" Katara retorted, pointing her finger at him.

"I didn't try to _kill you_ ," he explained, shaking his head. "I just wanted to capture the Avatar."

Toph picked her nose. "Yeah, and Combustion Man only wanted to invite us to tea."

Zuko had the grace to blush. "Okay, that wasn't my proudest moment."

Suki pursed her lips. "Nor was it when you tried to burn down my village."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay, so I've done bad things. How many more times do you want me to apologise?"

"Zuko's right," Sokka interjected, nodding his head as if he were spouting great words of wisdom. "We need to put the past behind us and focus on the here and now, and that is how do we help Katara not be stuck on a limb?"

Suki raised her eyebrow at her boyfriend. The judgement of that stare was real.

"Fine," Sokka sighed, slumping his shoulders. "No more puns."

"Thank you," Suki, Toph and Katara said in unison.

He straightened up again with a grin. "But if Katara does get a peg leg, I vote we call her Pegtara from now on."

Wordlessly, Toph and Suki punched him on either arm, making him yelp in pain. Katara just sighed. She really hoped she saw Chao again soon, because she was going to murder that spirit.


	12. Selfies with Aang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't remember how this idea came about, and not just 'cause it was written years ago. I know I started it while I was staying with Advocaat (who collaborated with me to write this one). I just don't remember why or how we started writing it. *shrug*

Aang had not meant to touch the contraption. It belonged to the Mechanist, and Katara was forever telling him not to touch people's things. It was bad manners. Unfortunately, the thing had just sort of fallen into his hand when he had been exploring the submarine. No, really. He'd just been minding his own business (okay, he had totally bumped into a shelf), and the thing had dropped off and landed right in his palm.

Anyway, it was only natural he examine it after that. The contraption was sleek and made of metal. There was some kind of shiny window on the front that glowed when he touched it. Which he did. A lot. The little window would change faces every time he brushed his finger to the side, showing odd words like 'MESSAGES' and 'CONTACTS'. However, it was when he pushed the button that looked like a box with a circle in the middle that things got really interesting. The little window showed him his own face, as if he were looking into a mirror. His finger accidentally brushed the bottom and there was an odd clicking sound.

"Woah!" Aang exclaimed, almost dropping the contraption.

His face was still being shown in the window, frozen in mid grin. Aang poked the shiny cover. His face became larger, zooming in on one grey eye. This time he did drop the contraption. What the heck had just happened?

Aang raised his arms and flapped them about so he resembled a giant, orange bat, checking to make sure no bits of him had gone missing into the window. He didn't feel like the device had done anything to him. In fact, he felt pretty good. He stared down at the contraption. His own face stared back at him. Suddenly, a wide grin curved Aang's lips.

The next minute he was holding the contraption in front of his face and pulling lots of different expressions, all the while clicking his finger on the little box button. Grinning Aang. Angry Aang. Silly Aang. Squashed Face Aang. Upside down and poking his head between his legs Aang. Pretty much all the Aang expressions he could think of.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

Aang glanced around to see Katara staring at him with one eyebrow raised. "Katara, you gotta see this!"

He dashed over, looped his arm around her shoulders, and then aimed the contraption at their faces. The next second the two of them were frozen in the screen: Aang grinning, while Katara just looked like she'd been stuffed like a dead fox-owl and put on display.

She blinked. "W-what just happened?"

Aang's grin widened. "I don't really know, but I found this thing in the Mechanist's room, and—"

Katara planted her hands on her hips. "Aang, you shouldn't touch people's things. What if you broke it or—"

His smile froze. "Ahhhh, gotta go!"

Aang created an airball and raced away, wiping his forehead in relief to have escaped one of Katara's Team Mum lectures. Much as he had a crush on the waterbender, even he could admit that she wasn't the first person you turned to when you wanted to goof off or indulge in silly shenanigans. Still, the fact remained that he'd discovered a shiny new toy and he was keen to test it out on all sorts of things.

"But what first?" he murmured, bringing a hand to his chin contemplatively. He perked up as an idea hit him. He cupped his hands over his mouth and called out, "Appa! Buddy! C'mere for a sec!"

He heard a low rumbling noise from the nearby field. Aang bounced over to meet his friend, who was munching on grass and did not seem in the mood to play.

"Aw, c'mon, Appa," Aang said, clambering on top of the bison's fluffy head and dangling over the front so that their faces were inches apart. "It'll be fun!"

Appa tilted his head to the side. Bits of grass were sticking out of his mouth. It was in that moment that Aang twisted so that they were both facing the contraption and clicked the button. There was a flash, and then Aang was looking at his brand new window image. Well, he could see his own face and a bit of Appa's shaggy fur, some grass, and a brown eye.

"Hrm," Aang said, rubbing his chin. "You know, I think your head is too big for this thing. Sorry, Appa."

Appa made a rumbling noise that might have been disappointment. Aang petted him in a comforting way and then made his goodbyes. It was time to find Momo.

"Momo!" he called, dashing off back toward the camp. "Momo, come over here!"

He heard a chirruping nearby and then the large-eyed white lemur popped his head out from one of the tents and eyed him curiously.

"Look what I found," Aang told the small animal, coming over next to him and displaying the odd contraption.

Momo chirruped again and tilted his head. He examined the object for a short moment before snatching it from Aang's hands and turning away, much to the young airbender's dismay.

"Hey!" Aang protested, making a grab for the thing.

Momo deftly ducked under his arm and scampered off a few paces, still observing the contraption with interest. Aang made a face and lunged at Momo, attempting once again to retrieve his new toy. The lemur squawked and tried to get away again but Aang grabbed him, preventing his escape.

"Give it back!" he demanded, reaching for the contraption.

Momo stretched out his arm, keeping it firmly out of Aang's reach. A fierce struggle ensued, which ended quite abruptly when the contraption let out a loud clicking sound and a flash. Momo dropped the thing and bolted away in fright.

Aang picked the device up and looked at the front where the shiny window displayed his and Momo's likeness. Their faces were frozen in comically strained expressions.

"What are you doing?" a curious but mostly unimpressed voice sounded from behind him.

Aang scrambled to his feet and whipped around, grin back in place. "Toph! Check out what I found!" He shoved the contraption at her, waving the screen in front of her eyes where he and Momo still graced the window.

"Looks great," Toph said with a wide smile.

"I know, right? I—"

A rock hit him in the chin.

"Ow!" Aang moaned, rubbing his jaw. "Whad'ya do that for?"

Toph blew her fringe out of her face and folded her arms across her chest. He glanced from the window to Toph's glassy green eyes.

"Oh, right," he said, rubbing the base of his neck. "Sorry."

Toph heaved an exaggerated sigh. "So, what is it?"

Aang tried his best to explain, but Toph just raised her eyebrow and planted her hands on her hips. Apparently, she wasn't impressed with his new toy.

"I don't see what you're so excited about," she said in a bored voice. "I can do the same thing with my bending."

To prove her point, she stamped her foot on the ground and raised her arms, creating a life-sized, three-dimensional version of Aang. However, the smooth rock that shaped his imitation's face was lacking the finer details. There were outlines and creases, but it could hardly be said that she had captured his expression. Not like what his shiny new toy could do. Aang pointed out as much, but Toph just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "Rock still beats toy any day."

On these sage words, Toph trundled off to the camp where everyone else was bustling about, getting ready for the upcoming battle. Aang watched her leave with a slight pout, though his expression brightened a second later. He'd just had another brilliant idea. Grinning with mischievous glee, he snuck into the camp and proceeded to 'sneak capture' any unsuspecting people that he came across with his device, so that he and the person were frozen in the window in comical ways. He caught The Hippo picking his nose, Haru admiring his moustache in a hand mirror, The Boulder cuddling a stray rabaroo—on and on went the images, and all the while Aang chuckled and dashed around like a crazy blur of orange.

In the end, it was Sokka who put a stop to Aang's antics. He snatched the device of the airbender and went on a mini lecture about how there was no time to play, because they were about to go fight the Fire Lord, and Aang shouldn't be distracting people from getting the boats ready, and—

"What is this thing anyway?" Sokka asked, pausing in his rant to peer at the device with curiosity. "Some kind of mirror?"

Aang responded by sidling against Sokka and pushing the little box button. There was a flash and then their faces appeared frozen on the screen. The Water Tribe boy made a dramatic sound of surprise and waved his arms about in what Toph had nicknamed Sokka's Dance of Distress. Aang tried to calm the older boy down, but it was a bit difficult when Sokka was declaring that the thing had stolen his soul, and that Aang needed to do something, because the demon mirror thing was evil, and people couldn't exist without their souls, and—

"Sokka, calm down!" Aang said loudly. "Your soul is fine."

Sokka blinked. "It is?"

Aang nodded and explained that the device was just something he had found in the mechanist's cabin. Sokka lost his wide-eyed look of panic and got a bit intrigued. Inventions were right up his alley. He examined the contraption with renewed interest, poking and prodding and testing the different buttons. Once he confirmed for himself that the device only froze his image in place and really wasn't a soul-sucking mechanism of evil, he got just as excited as Aang about the shiny new toy. Indeed, Sokka agreed that it was their duty to test it out—for research purposes and all. They still had some time before they had to set sail for the capital city.

So the two boys picked up where Aang had left off, making it their mission to get a sneak image with every person at the camp. Much fun was had by both, though Sokka soon got a troubled crease on his brow again. Upon some prodding, Sokka confessed that he was trying to think up a name for their new thingy majig, or at least what it could do. They couldn't keep calling the images 'window things' or 'frozen faces'. Sokka thought their new toy was shiny and cool, and it needed an equally shiny and cool name.

"I got it!" Sokka suddenly exclaimed, hitting his fist against his palm. "Selfies!"

"Huh?" Aang blinked a few times. "Why that?"

"Because they are pictures of ourselves," Sokka said, as if it was obvious.

Aang just shrugged. "Selfie it is."

And so the great selfie adventure to defeat the Fire Lord began.

* * *

OMAKE

* * *

The sky was awash with orange. Aang was covered in blood and grazes and his chest was heaving. Ozai was on the ground, limp like a boneless fish, and his long black hair was everywhere. The war was over. Aang had just used energybending to defeat the self-proclaimed Phoenix King, and now there was only one thing left to do.

Aang whipped out the sleek device from his pocket and leaned down next to Ozai, pulling a peace sign at the screen. "Selfie with Ozai!"


	13. Titles are for Chumps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, you have advocaat to thank for this one. The prompt for brothel advertising cracky times was hers; I just messed around with it.

Aang didn't know why Zuko was so grumpy. Maybe it was the fake moustache and eyepatch the Fire Lord had to wear for a disguise. (Aang, on the other hand, was quite happy to resume his role as Bonzoo Pippenpadlopsicopolis the Third.) Or maybe it was because Sokka had put them both on "pimping duty" in order to promote The Peony, a made-up business that had been created for the sole purpose of catching an international criminal who had been terrorising the four nations.

"Cheer up, sonny," Aang said in his best old man's voice, slapping Zuko on the back. "This has to be the easiest promotional job ever. Who knew people liked brothels so much?"

Zuko looked like he wanted to say something, but then he just sighed and shook his head. "Come on. There are more people over there."

"Righto!" Aang chirped, bouncing along with all his usual energy.

As agreed, Zuko took the lead in doing the actual pimping. Aang chimed in with his own comments, giving lots of thumbs-up and assuring their potential customers that they would be able to enjoy plenty of _quality time_ , spoken italics and all, with the lovely flower girls who graced the brothel. True, he was just quoting Sokka's rambles, but it seemed to do the trick. Guys got really excited whenever the words "pretty girl", "intimate" and "quality time" were put together. It made Aang wonder if he should try a real brothel sometime himself. If what Zuko and Sokka said was true, all the girls were very talented and knew exactly how to please a guy.

"I'd like to experience a brothel," Aang declared.

Zuko choked on his own phlegm. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

"Who?"

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe your girlfriend."

Aang blinked. "Katara can come too."

Zuko choked again and ended up having a coughing fit. Poor guy. His phlegm was being especially rebellious today. Aang patted him on the back.

"Look, Aang," Zuko said, once he got his coughing under control, "I know the Air Nomads were all into freedom and not being bound to one thing and all that, but Katara will kill you if you go to a brothel."

"What's so bad about a brothel?" Aang asked, eyes wide and earnest. "I mean, the girls are there to please the customers, so I don't see why they can't please both me and Katara if it comes to that."

Zuko's cheeks went a bit red. "I can't believe I'm hearing this from a monk who hasn't even hit puberty properly."

Aang just scrunched his nose in confusion. He really didn't understand what the big deal was. "What has my age got to do with it?"

"Apparently nothing. I think I just discovered I am a prude."

"Huh?"

Zuko leaned forward, peering closely at Aang. "Are you even a virgin?"

Heat flooded Aang's cheeks. "What the heck? W-why are you asking me that? I mean, I'm only thirteen. Sure, I might have thought about doing things with Ka—"

He broke off, realising he was able to reveal his most secret of fantasies.

Zuko just nodded, no longer looking confused. "Now it makes sense."

Aang blinked. "Huh?"

"You have no idea what a brothel is, do you?"

"It's a place where men and women can be intimate and enjoy quality time together," Aang quoted, remembering Sokka's description.

Zuko bent down and whispered something in Aang's ear. The airbender's eyes widened, even as pink spread all over his face, right up to the tips of his ears. He let out a small squeak.

"Really?"

Zuko nodded.

Aang swallowed a gulp of air. "I think you're right," he said, still looking a bit pink. "I definitely won't be inviting Katara to a brothel with me."

"No kidding."

Aang furrowed his brow. "Then I guess when Suki kept calling our target that 'horny bastard', it wasn't because he likes to wear horns after all."

Zuko face-palmed.


	14. Hotdogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You once again have Advocaat to thank for this one-shot. I decided to write some AtLA and she gave me the prompt: Sokka invents a new food called hotdogs, the gaang help him market it, and Zutara.

Zuko tried to be a good friend. He really did. He just struggled sometimes when Sokka got "ideas". Worse, when he wanted help with those ideas.

"But you're the Fire Lord," Sokka said in what he probably thought was a winning voice. "You can use your Fire Lordy powers and help me sell these so I can win the competition."

"These" were Sokka's latest invention. The boy had moved on from mechanical things to food. Of course, being Sokka, that meant everything he created involved meat. Today's was sausage in bun, with some red and yellow sauces on top. Zuko didn't see what was so great about it, but Sokka still claimed it made him a culinary genius. At least, he believed it would help him win the Manly Meals Fantastic Fire Chef competition (MMFFC for short), which was being held in the capital.

"Sokka," Zuko said a bit tiredly, "I'm not going to abuse my power as Fire Lord just so you can sell more of these—" he frowned at the bun "—what do you even call this thing?"

"A hotdog!"

Zuko blinked. "A hot what?"

"Hotdog," Sokka repeated. "I thought it would work well. You know, 'cause the Fire Nation is hot and everyone likes dogs."

Zuko resisted the urge to facepalm. "Okay, well, I still can't help you."

Sokka opened his mouth to argue, but Zuko cut him off.

"Look, I'm really busy. I have to be at a meeting—" he glanced at the clock, then paled "—now. Sorry, Sokka, I've got to go."

"But the hotdogs—"

"Get Aang to help you," Zuko said, already striding for the door. "He's got lots of influence as the Avatar."

"Aang is vegetarian!"

Zuko ignored this. He simply wished the boy luck and made his escape. True, sitting through his meeting wasn't exactly scintillating, but he at least thought he'd be safe from having to deal with Sokka. He was wrong. When he emerged from the council room, a harassed-looking servant said he had been asked by Master Sokka to bring the Fire Lord to him. This time, Zuko just sighed in resignation and allowed himself to be steered to the garden where the others had gathered. It seemed that Sokka had gathered everyone for a marketing strategy meeting.

"I still think that tofu sausages would be better," Aang said.

Sokka was not impressed with this input. He said manly men ate meat, tofu was made of sadness, and he wasn't going to let his hotdogs be desecrated in such a way. Aang pouted and demanded to know why he had even been brought there then.

"You know I don't eat meat," Aang muttered.

"You're going to help me as salesman and promoter," Sokka informed him.

Now it was Aang's turn to look unimpressed. "I believe in the sacredness of life," he said flatly. "I don't want to help you sell these."

Sokka was about to respond when he caught sight of Zuko. "Finally!" he exclaimed. "Come join us!"

Zuko folded his arms across his chest. "I already told you I won't abuse my powers to help you win a silly cooking competition. I don't even know why you're taking this so seriously."

Toph flicked a piece of snot from her finger. "The prize is to win a lifetime's supply of the Fire Nation's finest moose-cow meat."

Oh. Now it made sense. In fact, Sokka looked as if he was salivating just at the thought of a lifetime's supply of quality meat. Still, Zuko didn't understand why he had to be dragged into the mess. When he said as much, Sokka got sneaky and pulled out the "you're my friend" card. It seemed he had been doing this to everyone.

"He pulled the 'you're my girlfriend' card on me," Suki confided in a low voice, though she threw an affectionate glance at the Water Tribe boy. "Anyway, I think he just wants everyone around. He won't admit it, but he's really missed you guys."

Zuko repressed a sigh, though a much more sympathetic one this time. That also made sense. He'd thought Sokka had seemed a bit clingy since he had come with Aang and the others to visit. Even Zuko could admit that he'd missed his friends. Being the Fire Lord was busy, exhausting and stressful. He was only nineteen, but most days he felt like he was going on ninety. Maybe taking a break—even if it was to help Sokka market hotdogs—wouldn't be such a bad thing.

So, the Fire Lord put his natural "this is stupid" attitude aside and took a seat next to Katara on the grass. She also didn't seem very impressed with her brother's scheme; however, like Suki, she was at least willing to humour him. Even if she did say that the cooking competition was sexist (Manly Meals? Puh-lease), and that the hotdogs seemed kind of, well, basic.

"That's the point!" Sokka exclaimed. "They're simple things of wonderousness!"

Suki scratched her chin. "What about adding some greens or healthy things to them? You know, pickles and tomatoes, and—"

"Nooooo!" Sokka shook his head. "Those things are for rabbaroos. Manly men don't eat that stuff!"

Aang hugged his knees to his chest, looking sulky. "I like that stuff."

Momo chirruped and curled himself around the airbender's neck, as if to say it was okay because he liked those things as well. Somehow, this didn't seem to comfort Aang. Zuko felt obliged to let the airbender know that he was manly enough, and not to worry. Sokka was just being dramatic.

"Thanks, Zuko," Aang said, offering a shy grin.

Toph snorted. "When you two stop flirting," she said in a bland tone, "maybe we can—"

"What?" Zuko and Aang demanded in unison. Both were pulling horrified expressions.

Toph blinked far, far too innocently. "What?" she said. "You guys are so gay for each other. Everyone can see it. Even I can and I'm blind."

"That is not—" Zuko spluttered. "I've never—why would you even—"

Aang joined him in the spluttering. His face had gone bright red and he claimed, very, very emphatically, that he was not gay for Zuko. He wasn't gay at all.

Toph just shrugged. "Could have fooled me. I mean, isn't that why both your relationships failed?"

Aang shot an awkward glance at Katara. Meanwhile, Zuko was very conscious of the waterbender sitting next to him. He shuffled a few inches away, not quite meeting her gaze.

"Who cares who is gay for who?" Sokka demanded. "We're talking about hotdogs here!"

"I bet Aang would enjoy a taste of Zuko's hotdog," Toph said in her gleeful troll voice, "vegetarian or not."

Aang made little moans of horror and tried to get the girl to shut up. No one was oblivious to the innuendo. Zuko just pressed his face to his palms and decided the world should end in that moment, because nothing else would stop Toph once she got on her trolling roll. The little brat.

"Somehow, I don't think this marketing meeting is going anywhere now," Katara said dryly. "Sokka, you might as well accept that you're on your own this time."

"But—"

Suki wrapped her arms around her boyfriend from behind. "Don't worry, I'll be your sexy assistant and help you sell them."

Sokka seemed much cheered by this offer, though he did ask Zuko for any last suggestions or pointers. "I mean, you eat Fire Nation food every day and must know what the people like."

Zuko shrugged. "I dunno. We like food on sticks."

"On a stick?" Sokka repeated.

"Yeah." Zuko shrugged again. "It's easier to eat."

Sokka rubbed his chin in thought. "Hrm, on a stick. I think I've got it!"

Zuko later wondered if maybe he should have kept that advice to himself. The final product that got sold at Sokka's "Manly Stall" were hotdogs on a stick: as in, a sausage in a bun, with sauce and cheese … on a stick.

"He's not going to win," Katara observed.

"Probably not," Zuko admitted, "but he seems to be having fun."

Katara turned to face him, and a hint of a smile curved her lips. "So, you and Aang, huh?"

Zuko groaned. "Don't even start."

"But all that flirting, and—"

He leant down and kissed her firmly on the lips. When he pulled back, she was smiling.

"You know exactly why I broke up with Mai," he told her. "What I want to know is when you're going to let us go public with our relationship? I'm tired of keeping it a secret."

Katara made a thoughtful sound. "I tell you what. If Sokka wins the Manly Meals Fantastic Fire Chef competition, I will agree to go public with our relationship."

Zuko's eyes sparked with a determined fire. Needless to say, Sokka won a lifetime's supply of the Fire Nation's finest moose-cow meat that day.

* * *

OMAKE

* * *

"You know, I think I've thought of new way to market hotdogs," Sokka said.

Suki raised her eyebrow. "What?"

"We'll angle them as a romantic thing. Like those little Pocky Sticks. I eat from this end, and you eat from the other end, and eventually we'll meet in a kiss."

Suki's eyebrow arched a little higher. "Erm—"

"Let's just try it!"

So they did. And got a mouthful of hotdog.

"You know what," Sokka said, once he was finally able to swallow. "Let's just kiss."

Suki agreed and tossed her bit of the hotdog away. It wasn't like hotdogs needed to be romantic. They were, after all, just simple things of wonderousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't know, I am a New Zealander and am just confused by the concept of 'hotdogs' by itself just being a sausage in a bun. To me, 'hotdogs' are literally a battered sausage on a stick, but I was told the rest of the world don't agree with me, so I had to go the American hotdog way to fulfill this prompt. Boo.
> 
> Anyway, the "hotdog" on a stick scene was my way of satisfying my NZ heart. You silly people with your corndogs. Psssssh.
> 
> (I'm kidding … kind of)


	15. The Other Sibling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Kataara** made a post on tumblr that inspired me for this one-shot. She suggested an alternative Crystal Catacombs, but Sokka is the one stuck in there instead of Katara. I loved this idea and decided to take a stab at it, and though I think she wanted a Zukka angle, I'm going to indulge my little gen-loving heart with this one.

Prison welcomes with glowing crystals and an angry Water Tribe boy. A very angry Water Tribe boy. Zuko is too numb to pay attention to the shouts, too numb to care about anything. Azula has won, and now he's locked up in this place, and—

Something hard bounces off his head. A pebble? Zuko stares at the pebble. Then he frowns at the Water Tribe boy, who now has a handful of pebbles and is already taking aim again.

"Where's Suki?" Water Tribe demands.

"Who?"

It's hard to follow the conversation. Zuko's brain seems stuck on You Failed, You Failed, You Failed, and he's not sure he's ever heard the name Suki, and—

"Tell me where she is!"

He sighs and lets his shoulders slump. "I don't know, okay? Just leave me alone."

Water Tribe does not. He keeps shouting and throwing pebbles until all that numbness and despair falters like embers stirred with a hiss of wind.

Zuko's eyes flash. "Quit it!"

"I'll quit it when you answer the question! Where's Suki?"

"Like I said, I don't know! I don't know who that is!"

This is the wrong thing to say. Water Tribe gets angrier. Zuko learns that Suki is the name of Water Tribe's girlfriend (and Zuko burnt down her village once), and Azula was wearing her clothes and pretending to be her. Or something like that. Either way, Water Tribe is worried, and he wants answers, and it seems he thinks Zuko is the biggest evil jerk ever to walk the world since Zuko burnt down her village and didn't bother to learn her name.

(Zuko thinks this is not a good time to admit he's not certain about Water Tribe's name.)

"I don't know," Zuko mumbles. "I don't know what happened to her. That's the truth. I'm sorry."

Water Tribe glowers and glowers and glowers. Then his brow furrows. "Something is weird about you."

Silence.

"You're normally all RARGH! FLAMES!" He does a few punches to mimic firebending. "And you said sorry to me." He pulls a face as if the apology is the most offensive part.

More silence.

"This is creeping me out now."

Zuko sighs. This guy never shuts up.

"Oh, I get it. This is some Fire Nation trick, isn't it? You want me to lower my guard and spill information to you, but your mind tricks won't work on me! I'm too vigilant for that."

Zuko gives him the flattest of flat looks. His tone is just as flat. "Did you miss the part where I got tossed in here with you? I'm a prisoner as well."

"That's what you want me to think!"

Zuko suppresses a groan and presses his hands to his face. He just wants to wallow in silent misery (because everything is terrible now), but Water Tribe doesn't know the meaning of silent. He keeps going on and on about "Fire Nation mind tricks" and how he's not buying this poor prisoner act, blah blah blah …

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

"No," Zuko mumbles.

Water Tribe takes this as a sign to keep talking.

oOo

"You're really going to cling to this prisoner act, huh?"

Zuko flops onto his back and drapes his arm over his eyes.

"I already told you I won't tell you anything."

Silence.

"You could at least make yourself useful and get some food for us. It's not like your cover will be blown since I don't believe you anyway, and—"

Zuko throws a pebble at him.

"Hey!"

The tiniest of smiles tugs his lips before he goes back to glooming.

Water Tribe keeps talking.

oOo

"How long have we been in here now?" Water Tribe mutters.

Silence.

"Can't you just tell your sister or the Dai Li that—"

Zuko sits up. "For the last time, this isn't a trick! I'm not here to interrogate you! In fact, I wish my sister hadn't dumped me in here with you, because all you do is talk, talk, talk and it's driving me nuts!"

Water Tribe blinks. Looks a bit offended. Blinks some more.

"Just shut up already!" Zuko yells, and stomps off to gloom in a different part of their prison.

Water Tribe follows. "You know—"

"RARRRGH!"

oOo

Water Tribe has gone suspiciously silent. He sits with his knees close to his chest, and there is a pensive, if not grim, look on his face. Zuko frowns.

"Hey, Jerk Prince …"

Zuko's eyes narrow. Does this idiot really think he's going to respond to that?

"Zuko."

"What?"

"In that abandoned village, you and your uncle really did fight against your sister, right? It wasn't a trick?"

A sigh. "Are you that paranoid? Do you honestly think we'd put on such an elaborate hoax, getting Uncle hurt and putting me in prison with you here, just so you'll think I'm on your side and, what, tell me some information I probably already know?"

"Right …"

Silence.

"Is he okay?" Water Tribe asks.

"Who?"

"Your uncle."

Zuko's eyes widen.

"It just ... seemed like he got hurt pretty bad."

Zuko is quiet. "He's okay now. Or was the last time I saw him …"

Uncle had got away. He hadn't got caught by Azula and the Dai Li, because he didn't make stupid, impulsive choices. Uncle had to be okay … right?

The silence settles.

"Sorry I threw rocks at you."

Zuko raises his one good eyebrow. Water Tribe is apologising?

"But you kind of deserved it. I mean, you did chase us all over the world, and you attacked my village, and you burnt Suki's village, and you're Fire Nation, and—"

"I get it."

Water Tribe hugs his knees closer to his chest. "I think a part of me knew you weren't really working with your sister—not after what happened at that abandoned village—but … it's just hard for me to trust anyone from the Fire Nation, you know? Ever since Mum …"

Zuko sits up straighter. His heart clenches with a truth he doesn't need to hear, because there's only one reason Water Tribe would mention his mother in this context.

"When you first came to the village, I thought it was going to happen all over again," Water Tribe whispers. "It was almost a relief when you said you wanted the Avatar."

Zuko closes his eyes. "Sorry."

Now Water Tribe sits up straighter.

"About your mum. That's something we have in common."

"Was it … an enemy?"

Something heavy and unpleasant twists Zuko's stomach. "No. I think …"

_It was Father._

The words don't escape his lips, but they fill his mouth with a foul taste, like poison coating his tongue. The old fear, the old doubt. He's pushed and pushed that horrible thought away for so many years, refusing to let it linger, refusing to let it imprint truth. But a part of him knows. A part of him has always known.

His fingers curl into his legs and he presses his face against his knees. "It was the Fire Nation," he whispers. "The Fire Nation took my mother from me as well."

oOo

It gets easier to talk after that. It's like there's a wall of rocks between them and now they're pulling it down bit by bit. Not that they have a proper heart to heart. Not really. It's more like a slow thawing, a tentative truce offering.

"Alright, that's it," Water Tribe says, standing up. "We need to get out of here."

Zuko doesn't move. "Unless you're secretly an earthbender, neither of us will be going anywhere."

"Oh ye of little faith, we just have to use this." Water Tribe taps his head.

"Right …"

"Trust me. I have an idea."

The idea is stupid. Really stupid. Zuko tells him it isn't going to work, but Water Tribe insists that they at least try. That's how Zuko ends up lying flat on the ground as still as he can.

"This is so ridiculous," he grumbles.

"Shh. Dead people don't talk."

A muscle in Zuko's jaw twitches.

Water Tribe yells for the Dai Li, demanding they come quick because something has happened to Zuko.

No response.

"Man, these people really don't care about you," Water Tribe observes.

Zuko flicks him in the ankle. His small "Ow" is the most satisfying thing Zuko has heard since getting dumped in these catacombs.

Water Tribe keeps yelling until an exasperated Dai Li opens a hole in the ceiling.

"What?" the Dai Li growls.

"Zuko tripped and hit his head and now he's not moving. I mean, I personally don't care if he's dead or not, but if you guys were hoping to keep him alive, you should probably do something about that …"

"Like we're really going to fall for such an old trick!"

The hole closes up.

Zuko rests his chin on his palm. "Told you it was a stupid idea."

"You didn't play dead well enough."

"Right. It was my acting skills that made your plan fail."

Water Tribe folds his arms and looks the other way. "At least I'm doing something. What do you suggest we do?"

"Think about our place in the universe?"

Water Tribe gives him a look.

oOo

"Hey, Jerk Prince."

Silence.

_"Zuko."_

More silence.

"Fine, I'll just ask you then. If we get out of here, will you keep hunting Aang?"

Still more silence.

"Are you doing this on purpose now? Because I—"

"No."

Water Tribe blinks. "Huh?"

"I don't … see the point in trying to capture the Avatar now," Zuko says quietly.

He doesn't like the Earth Kingdom, doesn't want to be stuck here, but he's beginning to realise that maybe he doesn't have to follow the destiny his father forced on him either. He could choose a different life. He _could._

"Well, Aang still needs to learn firebending. Just saying."

Zuko scrunches his nose. "Did you … just ask me to teach the Avatar firebending?"

"All I'm saying is firebenders who don't want to kill Aang are far and few between. Beggars can't be choosers, you know."

Well, that was really unflattering.

"And you seem alright," Sokka says offhandedly. "For a jerkbender."

"Uh … right …"

Silence settles again. Both boys sigh.

oOo

Uncle, some blind girl, and a lemur turn up (after blasting a hole through the wall). Everything happens very quickly after that. They escape through the tunnel, but are soon blocked by the Dai Li and Azula. Zuko should have known his sister had been watching the whole time.

The blind girl grabs his arm. "Hold on tight."

"Wha—woah!"

She speeds them off, far away from the Dai Li and his sister. Far away from the catacombs altogether. Then the four of them (or five, including the lemur) face each other.

"Thank you, Miss Toph," Uncle says.

"No problem. It was your information that helped me get Snoozles back."

Ah, Snoozles. So that was his name.

"What will you both do now?" Snoozles asks.

Zuko looks at Uncle. They can't go back to Ba Sing Se. Azula won't rest until she has them locked up, which meant she probably hadn't been lying about what Father had ordered either. Maybe … maybe it really was time to give up on capturing the Avatar.

Maybe it was time to move on.

"What do you think, Uncle?"

Iroh rubs his beard and glances at Toph and Snoozles. "Is there room for two more on the bison? We need to get away from here as soon as possible."

"Of course," Toph says, "but Aang has Appa right now, and he's at the Eastern Air Temple …"

"We could meet up with my dad and Katara," Snoozles says. "They're just in the bay area."

Iroh thinks this is a good idea.

Zuko frowns. Everything is still moving so fast, but he knows he can't go back either. All those dreams of home and family have to stay just that: dreams. The only way to progress, to stay alive and out of prison, is forward.

"Okay," he says.

Maybe he'll come to regret this choice, maybe he won't. But he will press forward.

.

.

.

**OMAKE**

"So, Snoozles …"

Coughs and splutters. _"Snoozles?"_

"Uh, yeah … isn't that your name?"

In the background, Toph cackles like a mad little gremlin.

Zuko's face burns. Oh no.


	16. Tea (with a side of wisdom)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one-shot was inspired by alynnl's prompt on tumblr: "Another friendship scene with Toph and Iroh, maybe in the tea shop? Toph might be asking for advice on how to handle her family problems. (I loved their interaction and wanted to see more!)"
> 
> I'm always down for more Toph and Iroh. Hope you enjoy, alynnl!

"Well?" Gramps asked.

Toph held up a finger to tell him to wait. She picked up the cup in front of her and sniffed the contents. Earthy, almost like wood. A smile spread across her face. "Ginseng."

A chuckle. "You've got very good at this game."

"Perks of being blind. Ain't nothing fools this nose."

"So it seems."

Silence settled. Toph sipped her tea. There were no other customers in the Jasmine Dragon. Gramps had closed the shop so it could be just the two of them. He was nice like that, though she had yet to broach what had brought her here. It was easier to focus on the hum of voices outside, Gramp's steady heartbeat, or the blend of herbs that perfumed the teashop.

"You're quiet today," Gramps observed.

His tone was gentle, but it still felt like a prod to her ribs.

"So? I can be quiet if I want."

"You can, but I don't believe you came all the way here just to play tea guessing games with me."

Her brows pinched. She wrapped both hands around her cup, letting the warmth press into her skin.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

Her grip tightened. "Not really ..."

"That still sounds like a maybe."

She shifted on her seat and kept her head lowered. Just because she couldn't make out people's faces clearly didn't mean that he would not be able to read her expression.

"I … thought about visiting home," she admitted.

"I see."

That was it. No comments about whether it was a good thing or not. Just a simple statement that allowed her to choose whether she wished to explain more. Toph appreciated that.

"I haven't been back since I ran away. I know my parents are probably worried, and I know I should try to make things better with them, but …"

"But what?"

"I don't know if I actually want to. They just … they never saw me. They saw my blindness, my gender, but they never saw _me_." Anger and hurt curdled in her stomach. "They would have kept me shut away like some delicate flower my whole life had I not run away. They even tried to hire some idiots to kidnap me and take me back to Gaoling."

"Those are serious grievances."

Toph straightened and pressed her bare feet into the floor, wanting to feel every vibration, to sense whatever she could of his posture and the shifting blotch that was his expression. Most people liked to come up with excuses for her parents or hinted that she should try to be the bigger person (because "family was important"). Gramps did neither.

"That's it?" she said. "You're not going to tell me I should forgive them or at least try to speak to them?"

"Do you want me to?"

Her brow furrowed.

Gramps poured himself another cup of tea. "More tea?"

She shook her head. She still had plenty left in her cup.

"Can I be honest, Toph?" he asked, settling back on his chair and placing the teapot down.

"I guess."

"It seems to me that you need to decide what you really want. You said you know that you should probably try to fix things with your parents, but for whose benefit is that? Yours? Theirs?"

Her frown deepened.

"Your parents no doubt did what they thought was best for you. Likewise, you ran away because you believed that was best for you. Now you are like two streams heading on parallel paths, never able to cross unless a bridge of harmony and understanding is forged."

She scrunched her nose. "Could have done without the harmony bridge, but I think I get what you're saying."

Nothing would change between her and her parents unless both sides put in the effort. She had to let go of her pride and give them another chance, and they had to start listening. The problem was that her parents had never been good at listening.

She traced her finger along the rim of her cup. "What if they don't change? What if they can't accept me for who I am?"

Gramps went quiet. "People will often tell you that you should try to make the most of the family you have, because you only get the one."

She nodded. She had heard those kinds of speeches before.

"But I don't think that's true, nor do I believe we should chain ourselves to those who only end up hurting us."

"Then you think I shouldn't go back to them?"

"Like I said, I think you need to decide that for yourself. It is an admirable thing to wish to make amends with your parents. I would never discourage you from doing so, but they are not your only family, Toph. You have me. You have my nephew. You have all the people who have forged bonds of affection and trust with you."

Her eyes prickled a little and her throat got tight. She swallowed and took a big gulp of tea.

"Whatever happens with your parents, know that you will always have a home to go to. You will always have us."

She sniffed and rubbed at her eye, trying to pretend there was something stuck in it. "Thanks, Gramps."

"You are very welcome, Miss Toph."

He stood up and bustled off with a promise to bring them some snacks. She knew he was just giving her a chance to compose herself.

By the time he returned with red bean sweets, she had managed to get her drippy nose down to a sniffle and stop the moisture from leaking from her eyes. He took his seat opposite her.

"Hey, Gramps?"

"Yes?"

"Will you help me write a letter to my parents?"

"Of course."

She smiled and bit into one of the sweets. She could always count on Gramps to give good company, tea, and wisdom.


	17. A Tale of Two Ninjas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was based on soopersara's prompt on tumblr, which was to write about Zuko and Toph (or Suki) going on a life-changing field trip. I decided to go with Suki. I also interpreted "field trip" a bit loosely ...

Kyoshi Island was considered a neutral zone. This meant (recently banished) Prince Zuko could visit and demand if the Avatar was around (which he had), but it also meant they could say no and that would be the end of it. This wasn't good enough. Zuko wanted to be _thorough_. It was his duty to be so, and that naturally meant he had to don his Blue Spirit gear and sneak off the ship for further explorations. It absolutely wasn't because it was music night tonight ...

Ahem.

In any case, Prince Zuko, now the Blue Spirit (who was doing the responsible thing and absolutely not avoiding music night), jumped from rooftop to rooftop and blended in with the darkness. He moved like a shadow, he had become one with the shadows, he—

"What are you doing?"

He yelped and almost lost his footing. A person perched on the roof with him. Said person sounded like a girl and looked small enough to be about his age, but that wasn't the important thing. The important thing was that he was a stealthy ninja who had just been outninja'd. (Seriously, how had she even got up here without him noticing?)

She pointed something at him. A sliver of moonlight revealed it was a fan. Another thirteen-(but _almost_ fourteen)-year-old boy might have laughed, but Zuko didn't. This island was full of scary ladies with fans, and he knew from experience that girls could be terrifying. (Ty Lee smiled as she shutdown people's limbs, Mai could pin a falling leaf to a tree with a knife, and Azula … Azula needed no explanation.) Anyway, Zuko knew better than to laugh at a girl pointing a weapon at him, especially since she'd just outninja'd him.

"Well?" Ninja Fan Girl prodded.

"I, er, um …"

The fan edged closer.

"I'm just … admiring the … stars?"

"And you thought you'd wear all black and a weird mask while you were at it?"

Zuko gulped. He would later say he had planned all along to push her and make a run for it. He totally hadn't panicked (even if this was his first time getting caught by someone). He was a confident, sword-wielding ninja, and—

And she was following him.

Zuko ran and jumped and scrabbled up walls (all with panther-fox stealth so as not to make a clatter and attract more people), and the girl was just as silent and kept up as if it was nothing. He was kind of impressed (but that didn't stop him from chucking one of the small oranges in his pocket at her).

"Hey!" she hissed.

Zuko sped on. He lamented the loss of his snack (a wasted thing since it had barely slowed her down). Indeed, it wasn't until his lungs started to really protest (and hers too from the sound of her wheezy breathing) that he realised this whole chase wasn't going how he thought. For one thing, she hadn't shouted or made any cry of alarm. For another, she didn't seem to be trying that hard to attack him.

He jumped to the next roof and tripped a little, throwing his hands out to steady his balance. The soft _thunk_ from behind told him she'd also made the jump.

"You … almost … fell … over," she panted. "Ha."

"I'll … show … you … _ha_."

He didn't, of course. His legs were traitorous jelly and all he managed was to stand with his hands braced on his knees and wheeze. She also wheezed. (His wheezes might have been louder, but he would never admit that to her. The Battle of Wheezes was not one he wanted to win.)

"Looks … like … you ... can't … run … any … more," she said, pointing sloppily at him. It looked more like a droopy wave.

"Neither … can … you."

"Can … too."

"Then … prove … it. Go … that … roof." He gestured just as sloppily at the big building farther down the street.

The girl straightened, chest heaving. She looked as if she was going to do it, but then she paused and swung back to face him. "I'm … not … falling … for … that."

Damn.

Zuko leaned harder on his knees and took deep breaths. His back was wet with a line of sweat and he really wished he could pull off his mask. It was getting too hot behind the wood. (How long had they even been running around these rooftops? He'd lost count ages ago.)

"Why …" He swallowed, took another deep breath. "Why do you keep chasing me?"

"Because you're wearing a weird mask, sneaking on rooftops, and I know you aren't from my village."

Fair point. He would probably do the same. Still, there was one thing that niggled.

He tilted his head. "Then why did you _only_ chase me?"

She was not so quick to answer. She fidgeted with her tunic, traced circles on the roof with the toe of her boot, touched her hair. Zuko's eyebrows rose. (Or eyebrow, since the other one had been burnt off and probably wasn't going to grow back. Which did not bother him at all, despite what Uncle thought, because there were worse things than having one eyebrow. And, no, his massive burn scar and one eyebrow had no relation to the fact he'd also broken the mirror in his room. He'd just tripped ... and a fireball had hit the mirror. Anyway, none of that mattered because he was wearing a mask and she couldn't see his one eyebrow, and—)

Oh, the girl was talking. Or mumbling. He couldn't make out anything.

"Huh?" he said (very intelligently).

"I guess I was curious … and it …" Mumble, mumble, mumble.

"Huh?" (Still an intelligent response.)

She folded her arms and raised her chin. "I said it was kind of fun, okay!"

He winced. She clamped her hand over her mouth, a big old OOPS all over her face. That had been way too loud.

Stompy feet from below. More movement from the neighbouring houses.

"Who's out there making a racket?" someone growled, followed by more stompy feet. "If that's you, Yumi, I'm going to—"

Ninja Fan Girl snatched his wrist and tugged him with her over the rooftops. He was too surprised to protest (and also didn't want to get caught by Stompy Feet.) It was lucky they'd both been able to have a breather as well, as his legs didn't feel quite so much like jelly now. Still, when they made it to the outside fields of the village and were no longer in danger of being caught, both collapsed onto their backs, chests heaving once more.

A soft, snorty sound escaped the girl. Then another and another, and then she was laughing and he didn't know how it had happened but somehow he was laughing as well.

"I'm Suki," she said.

"I'm … Lee."

"Lee, huh?"

"Yes."

That came out a little defensive, but she didn't question his tone. Maybe she didn't really want to prove he had lied about his name. (Just like she hadn't really wanted to capture him either.)

(And maybe he should have been more bothered that this whole chase and escape thing had derailed his mission to find the Avatar, but right now he was content to lie on the grass next to Suki. Just to catch his breath again, of course.)

"They're pretty," she said.

"Huh?"

"The stars. That's what you came out to admire, right?"

She was totally teasing him, but somehow he didn't mind. He looked up at the sky. Hundreds of specks of silver-white glinted and winked on a canvas of black. It _was_ pretty. Everything was brighter out here as well. He could see that she was as young as he'd supposed and it looked as if she was smiling.

"I have an orange," he said.

"Um … what?"

Zuko pulled it out of his pocket and showed her. "This. I did have two, but I threw one at you and, uh …"

Maybe he should shut up. This conversation was derailing faster than his attempts to find the Avatar. Also, she was giving him a weird look. This was why he didn't like talking to people. (And why he sometimes practiced speeches on animals first. Pro tip: komodo-rhinos were great listeners, but owlcats were restless and tended to leave mid-conversation.)

And she was still giving him a _look_. Right.

"I mean if you're hungry you can have it," he said gruffly, avoiding her gaze.

"Thanks …"

She took the orange from him. The zesty tang of citrus tickled his nostrils as she peeled back the rind. Half an orange was plonked on his chest.

"We can share," she said simply.

Zuko's mouth curved a fraction (not that she could see), and he lifted up his mask enough to pop a slice of orange into his mouth. They chewed quietly and stared up at the stars.

"So, is that sword of yours just for decoration?" she asked.

"It's sword _s_ , and I dunno, are those fans of yours just for cooling yourself down?"

She sat up. "Shall we test?"

He grinned, popped the rest of the orange into his mouth, and flipped to his feet. "You asked for it."

oOo

The fight was a draw. Zuko bowed to her at the end as one does to an equal, and she bowed back with the same degree of respect. Both had earned that bow.

"I should probably get back home," she said.

"I should get back as well …"

Neither moved. Zuko didn't know why his feet wouldn't budge. He didn't know this girl, not really, but it was like there were gossamer threads twining and connecting them now. Threads that had been weaved from a silly chase over rooftops. Threads of secret fun, of fleeing Stompy Feet, and a shared orange.

Threads of … friendship?

She let out a small sigh and turned to leave, only to pause and glance over her shoulder at him. "The Avatar isn't here, you know."

"W-what? I never said anything about—"

"Your voice is kind of distinctive, _Lee_. Maybe you should rethink the whole speaking thing if you want to be an incognito ninja."

Warmth rushed over his cheeks. He coughed. "Uh, right."

"Anyway, he's not here. We have a lot of old fogies, but no Avatar. Believe me."

Zuko did believe her. He didn't like the idea of having to continue his search, but he did believe her.

She lowered her head. "So, uh, I guess this is goodbye then …"

"I guess."

"If we meet again, I'll kick your butt for sure. I'm gonna be captain of the Kyoshi Warriors one day, you know."

"Hey, I won't be slacking either."

A grin. "Good. I'll be counting on it."

She waved and dashed back towards the village. Zuko glanced up at the stars, taking in their endless brightness. Then he let out a breath and headed for his ship. It was time to put the mask away. (And if a part of him continued to hope that he would meet Suki again, it absolutely wasn't because he had kind of liked hanging out with her.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should apologise for this one somehow because I wrote it while my brain was like "wheee, sparkles!" and that, uh, tends to translate into my writing. Oh well. I hope you liked it anyway, even if it was more like Zuko and Suki have a sort-of adventure rather than a life-changing field trip.


	18. Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on omegansamurai's prompt on tumblr, which was to write a Taang first kiss. I'll admit this isn't a pairing I particularly ship, but I hope you enjoy!

It's a hot night. The stars are out like pearls scattered in ink and a few crickets are chirping. Aang and Toph sit close on the step in the garden, thighs and arms touching. She's dressed in her sleep robe, which is tied a bit too loose. He wonders if she cares or even knows how much skin she's showing. She's petite even at twenty, but that's still a lot of leg and cleavage. His mouth goes dry. (Just from the heat, of course. He should probably stop staring though.)

"More?" she asks, offering him the bottle of rice wine.

"Better not. I think I've already had too much."

"Weak."

"Hey!"

She laughs and swallows back her own cup of rice wine. A few drops spill and caress her lips and drip down her chin. His finger takes on a mind of its own and scoops up the trail, moving to brush her bottom lip. Her very soft (and now a little wet, thanks to the alcohol) bottom lip. She tenses. He feels the way she stops breathing, at least for a heartbeat.

He should pull his hand away. Like now.

Her head tilts to him and her cheeks look a bit pink. (From the wine?) Then a grin flashes and she takes his finger into her mouth and gives it a lick.

"Ugh, Toph!"

She cackles as he wipes his finger on her sleeve, but this just spurs her to try lick his face instead. Except she's much shorter and they're both a little tipsy, and somehow he ends up on his back with her on his lap.

_Thud, thud._

His heart stutters and drums. Their faces are close. Too close. Foreheads bump and the smell of rice wine teases his senses. It's dizzying, exhilarating.

He rises like he's caught on a lure and presses his lips to hers. This kiss is quick and clumsy, but it also feels good (really, really good), so he slants his mouth and tries from a different angle. She's quick to respond. Teasing. Insistent. Her fingers curl into his shoulders and tingles shiver all through him. They kiss and kiss until all he can taste is rice wine. Until his pulse and heart is a throbbing mess, and all he wants is to hold her closer.

Until he's pulling back in wide-eyed shock, because his brain has finally caught up to his body, and holy lychee nuts, he just made out with Toph Beifong. Like really, really made out.

She does that little head tilt thing and licks her lips. "Huh, not bad."

"Um, what?"

"You. You're not a bad kisser."

He blinks. Blinks some more.

She smiles and leans in, lips brushing the shell of his ear. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to sleep with you tonight."

Fire burns his cheeks. "Toph! I never—I didn't even—"

She cackles and climbs off him, hips swaying as she saunters off to her room. Aang swallows as he watches her retreat. Oh, he is so in trouble.


End file.
